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Alliance EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCES
VOL. 20, NO. 1
2011
The science behind
baby talk
Treating those returning
from war
Leadership for all
2011 Alliance 1
Welcome to a new edition of Alliance. We trust that your year has been a successful
one so far.
In spite of our continuing budget reduction concerns, the College of Allied
Health Sciences has continued to grow in enrollment, course offerings, research,
development funding, service and engagement, student leadership, degree
programs, and clinical services.
One of the drivers for our growth has been our strategic plans, and the
2010-2013 Strategic Action Plan continues to serve as our blueprint for the future.
Dr. Beth Velde, professor of occupational therapy and assistant dean for special
projects, has taken the lead in working with faculty and administrators to craft a
dynamic strategic action plan that is in line with plans of the University of North
Carolina system and East Carolina University, so that there is continuity across
the state, university, college and department levels to ensure that we are working
toward the same goals and objectives. There are five ECU strategic directions, and
our college has developed goals, objectives, measures and outcomes for four of these
university directions.
The four ECU strategic directions addressed in our strategic action plan include:
education for a new century; the leadership university; health care and medical
innovation; and economic prosperity in the east. As our alumni and friends, it is
important that you know what plans your college has developed and implemented.
The articles in this issue are just a few of the many examples of how hard our
outstanding faculty, staff, administration and students have worked to creatively
meet the needs of the university, region and state and to ensure that ECU is a
national model for public service and regional transformation. In fact, many of our
projects have national and international application. What we do for the eastern
part of North Carolina often has relevance to the nation and world.
The articles in this issue address our strategic directions and serve as examples of
the progress CAHS is making to meet the strategic priorities of ECU and the UNC
system. I hope you enjoy reading about the projects and initiatives that our college
has strategically implemented and that you also take time to visit our regularly
updated website at www.ecu.edu/ah to learn more about our legacy and priorities
for teaching, research, service, engagement, and clinical practice.
In this issue, we also are trying something new. We are offering our readers an
invitation to join the college’s giving society, “Alliance for Excellence.” Please look
for the envelope in the magazine to make a gift. We have always been fortunate
and extremely grateful that our alumni and friends support the work we do to
ensure that our students are ready and possess the critical thinking skills to face the
challenges that await them.
In spite of serious ongoing budget concerns, CAHS is moving forward. Would
you expect any less?
All the best,
Stephen W. Thomas, Professor and Dean
A message
from the dean
2 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 3
The science behind baby talk :::4 Faculty member Heather Ramsdell opens infant vocal development laboratory
Pirates and Hurricanes ::::::::::::::::::8 Physical therapy students part of hockey training team
I am an ECU allied health sciences student: :11
Into the workplace ::::::::: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 12 Preceptors prepare students for life after college
Returning from war: : 16
Federal funds support ECU research, treatment for service men and women
Leadership for all : 20
Giving students the tools they need to work inter-professionally
Remote hearing test expands access to care: : 24
Faculty member Gregg Givens leads effort
Healing strength: : 26
Stacie Caswell used her occupational therapy training to help other soldiers
Back in the USA: : 31
Pat Frede returns from war
Class notes: : 32
ECU welcomes seven new faculty : 36
Contents
20
16
4
On the cover: A blooming Bradford pear tree welcomes visitors to the allied health sciences
campus in the springtime.
4 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 5
Faculty Spotlight
The Science Behind
Baby Talk
At left, Dr. Heather Ramsdell plays with
6-month-old Drew Langley of Ayden in the
infant vocal development laboratory at ECU.
The lab is filled with toys, books and other
items just like a nursery at home.
By Crystal Baity The progression from cooing and
squealing to babbling and gibberish is
more than cute baby talk.
East Carolina University assistant
professor Heather Ramsdell is studying
how baby sounds develop in the first
year of life and the link between those
sounds, first words and early language
development.
“The ultimate goal is to get a better
picture of typical vocal development so
one day we can indentify atypical vocal-ization,
which is linked to late speech
development, cognitive delays and social
development,” Ramsdell said.
There is a lot more to be learned
about how those sounds develop.
“Babies perceive much more than they
can produce,” Ramsdell said. “I get
to go to work every day and listen to
babies babble.”
Since joining ECU last summer,
Ramsdell has built the Infant Vocal
Development Laboratory in the
Department of Communication
Sciences and Disorders. Her light-filled
corner lab is a nursery with primary-colored
blocks, stuffed toys, books,
puzzles, a high chair, play saucer, pack-n-
play, rocking chair and more.
Ramsdell attaches microphones to
babies and moms or caregivers, and
then they play, eat or nap–whatever they
normally do–to record everything she
hears. Acoustic tiles line the walls to
capture crisp audio and eight cameras,
held by purple monkeys strategically
placed around the room, see baby’s faces
clearly. The infant-worn microphone is
safely encased in a custom-made vest by
Catherine Visage of Seams Unique in
Greenville so cables can’t be reached.
“The combination of the visual and
audio together allow us to get the best
judgment of the baby sounds, and the
interaction between the caregiver and
infant,” Ramsdell said.
The video and audio is fed into an
adjacent control room with two coding
stations and two computer monitors for
viewing. The software provides flexi-bility
for viewing different recorded
camera angles and audio signals, from
a close-up of a baby’s face to a wider
angle view of the interaction between
infant and parent. One microphone can
be turned on while another is off, or
Ramsdell can listen to both.
“Everything in the nursery comes
into the control room to keep the
recording environment as natural as
possible,” she said.
Then begins the time-intensive
task of analyzing the range of sounds
from squeals and growls to laughs
and cries. “We also look at the facial
affect. Was baby happy or sad? Was the
gaze directed? Was he or she looking
at mom? Did the baby produce sound
due to a request from mom?” Ramsdell
said. “There are a million different
variables we could analyze.”
While a parent might only hear
two syllables in “mama” or “dada,”
Ramsdell might transcribe it as three
different syllables. “There are huge
discrepancies between what caregivers’
judge and what we see or hear when
6 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 7
listening to the infant vocalizations
over and over again in the research
lab,” she said.
Typical developmental benchmarks
show children start producing sounds
that are well-formed and say their
first words by 12 months old. By 18
months, they have a vocabulary of
about 50 words.
Ramsdell was drawn to Greenville
because of the reputation of ECU
where she teaches phonetics and
phonology, and the almost 4,000
babies born annually in Pitt County.
She hopes to reach some of those
babies to expand her research.
“As speech language pathologists,
we need to know the intricacies of
how speech develops and is produced,”
Ramsdell said. “If there is any problem
in communication in a person’s life,
their quality of life is vastly affected.”
Her lab, unique in North Carolina,
is a testament to advances in infant
vocal development research since
the 1970s. She previously worked as
coordinator of the vocal and speech
development project at the University
of Memphis, where she earned her
doctoral degree. She also was a speech-language
pathologist in the Memphis
City School District.
She received a bachelor’s degree
in speech-language pathology and
audiology from Iona College and a
master’s degree in communication
disorders from Boston University. At
Memphis, her research mentor was Dr.
Kimbrough Oller, a groundbreaking
expert in the field.
Ramsdell’s arrival ends a multi-year
search for someone with expertise
in infant speech production and
development, said Dr. Gregg Givens,
professor and chairman of the
communication sciences and disorders.
“It is hoped that Dr. Ramsdell’s
research will lead to better and earlier
treatment of speech disorders in very
young children as well as perhaps the
discovery of early signs or indicators
that a communication problem may be
developing to allow us to implement
intervention at an earlier age than what
is now occurring,” Givens said.
A recent viral YouTube video of twin
brothers babbling in a kitchen offers a
glimpse at the research Ramsdell will be
doing at ECU. The video, at youtube.
ecu, shows the brothers communicating
with unrecognizable words but obvious
interaction: taking turns talking,
looking at and imitating each other.
Drew Langley of Ayden reaches for a toy
from Dr. Heather Ramsdell in her ECU
laboratory. Ramsdell hopes to recruit infants
about the same age as Langley to study typical
vocal development in the first year of life.
While not a participant, Langley demonstrated
the lab’s features.
“It’s obvious that, despite the fact that
these baby boys are not communicating
with words, they fully understand how
a communication exchange works,”
Ramsdell said.
Mark Allen, the college’s electronics
specialist, and 11 undergraduate
students have helped Ramsdell set
up the lab and prepare for its first
participants. Dr. Andrew Stuart will
evaluate hearing with the infants who
are part of the research.
8 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 9
In photo at left, physical therapy doctoral
students Josh Hefner, left, and Justin Pretzel,
stand on center ice before game time. Top right,
Hefner prepares ice bags for athletes.
By Crystal Baity When the Carolina Hurricanes suit up
at home on game day, two East Carolina
University physical therapy doctoral
students are part of the training team.
Students Josh Hefner and Justin
Pretzel along with associate professor
Dr. Blaise Williams and clinical assistant
professor Kevin Youngs were asked to
help conduct pre-season screenings last
summer for a research study on hockey
player injuries. The invitation came
after Jaime Holt, an ECU alumnus and
physical therapist with the official team
orthopedist of the Hurricanes, spoke to
Dr. Walt Jenkins’ ECU sports physical
therapy class. Williams also participated
in a conference hosted by Peter Friesen,
head athletic trainer and strength and
conditioning coach for the Hurricanes.
The research project led to the
students serving as home game day assis-tants
for the 2010-2011 season, where
they primarily work with Friesen and
assistant athletic trainer Doug Bennett.
Hefner and Pretzel arrive at the RBC
Center three hours before game time,
where they ready equipment, organize
bench and emergency supplies, meet
with the opposing team’s athletic trainer,
and assist with the treatment and
training needs of athletes throughout
the game, Friesen said.
Those needs may range from admin-istering
ice bags and hot packs to
cleaning up blood or taking someone
for X-rays. Hockey is fast and physical.
Some hits compare to a minor car crash,
Friesen said. Keeping players healthy
is critical since they have three to four
games per week and travel 75,000 miles
a year, crossing 13 time zones.
“It brings a whole new dimension to
sports medicine. Eating patterns, sleep
patterns, playing surfaces, old skates/
new skates,” Friesen said. The students
are also exposed to other cultures
because hockey is a multi-national sport.
While not at the rink, the students
are in clinical rotations in the Triangle
each weekday, which makes for some
very long hours. They usually stay
about 90 minutes after the final buzzer,
easily clocking a 6-7 hour day on top
of the regular work day. Initially, the
Hurricanes planned on one assistant,
but because of Hefner and Pretzels’
clinical responsibilities they split the
job by alternating game days, which has
worked perfectly.
It is the first time either has worked
with professional athletes. Both are
athletic and have an interest in sports
and sports medicine, having played
high school sports. Pretzel also played
two years of college football. He is a
longtime hockey fan, lured by the fast
pace of the game.
“Pete is pretty well known,” said
Pretzel, 26. “It’s been fun to pick his
brain and watch some of the things
he does with players. I definitely have PIRATES
Physical therapy students part of the hockey training team Pirates and Hurricanes
10 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 11
I am an
ECU allied health
sciences student
Applied for undergraduate admission: 246
Admitted to undergraduate programs: 158
Average GPA of those admitted into undergraduate programs: 3.23
Applied for graduate admission: 1305
Admitted for graduate programs: 161
Average GPA of those admitted to the graduate programs: 3.48
Total number of students enrolled in allied health sciences degee
and certificate programs in fall 2010: 803
Female students: 677
Male students: 126
White students: 621
Non-white students: 182
Full-time students: 667
Part-time students: 136
In-state students: 703
Out-of-state students: 100
Other important statistics:
The following are departmental enrollments for the 2010-2011 calendar year.
Clinical Laboratory Science: 27; Communication Sciences and Disorders: 196;
Health Services and Information Management: 191; Occupational Therapy: 62;
Physical Therapy: 84; Physician Assistant Studies: 94; Rehabilitation Studies: 149;
Graduate Certificate programs: 79
enjoyed working with the athletes. It
challenges me.”
The experience has enhanced
classroom and lab training Hefner and
Pretzel receive at ECU. Exposure to
the newest equipment, techniques and
strategies is something Hefner and
Pretzel can add to their repertoire as
physical therapists.
“Honestly, the hockey players are
like machines,” said Hefner, 25. “They
work really hard. Hockey is one of the
most physically demanding sports. They
are playing every other night. These
guys train after the game. They go lift
weights; they get on bikes. They want to
be that much better than other players.”
Hefner is in clinical training for 10
weeks at Wake Med in the rehabilitation
unit, where he is helping patients who
have had strokes, joint replacements or
spinal cord injuries prepare to return
home or go to assisted living. Hefner
and his wife, Nikki, who is a cardiac
surgery nurse at Pitt County Memorial
Hospital, have a 1-year-old son, Noah.
Pretzel is working with patients in
an outpatient physical therapy clinic in
Cary under the guidance of a practicing
physical therapist. “In a clinical setting,
you see patients after they’re hurt. You’re
trying to get them back to where they
were before the injury,” he said.
Hefner and Pretzel graduate in May
and look forward to a fulfilling career
with an eye toward sports physical
therapy one day. The Hurricanes
experience has sealed their interest.
“It’s a tremendous learning
experience for any student,” Friesen said.
“It is a tremendous commitment on
their part. You’ve got to find someone
who is willing. If they’re not interested
in sports medicine, it’s probably not a
good assignment.”
Friesen said he has learned from
having the students in the locker room
as well. “I’m very thankful we’ve hooked
up with ECU physical therapy,” Friesen
said. “It’s an enriched environment and
provides a very great service to us.”
Injury check
By Crystal Baity Hockey’s fast pace and physical play
can sideline some athletes.
But researchers at East Carolina
University are studying risk factors and
prevention of groin injuries to keep
Carolina Hurricanes hockey players on
the ice.
Before the season began, ECU
associate professor Dr. Blaise Williams
assembled a team including clinical
assistant professor Kevin Youngs,
students Jill Davis, Josh Hefner,
Christina Pate, Justin Pretzel, Keith
Sales, David Stallings and Kelsey
Waggoner who helped with pre-season
physical testing of the athletes’
strength, flexibility and cardiovascular
endurance. They also used a handheld
dynamometer to measure force and
strength in the players’ outer and
inner thighs.
“A big problem with hockey players
is groin injuries,” Williams said.
“Injuries to the hip adductors and
hamstrings can be debilitating.”
The muscles are important because
of the side-to-side movement of
skating. Researchers want to know
if the likelihood of injury increases
in athletes with an imbalance in hip
muscle strength. “We don’t want them
to get hurt making a strong push
against a skate,” Williams said.
Athletes are being tracked for injury
during the season. Data from the
preseason will be added and analyzed,
then given to Carolina Hurricanes
head trainer Peter Friesen for
recommendation. “Then we’ll follow
them in the off season to talk about
intervention,” Williams said.
“You want to start and finish with as
many athletes as you can,” Youngs said.
Physical therapists could decide
to train the hockey players at risk for
groin injury differently or give them
additional preventative exercises based
on the findings.
“We define injury in a professional
athlete differently than (we would
in) you or I,” Williams said. “If it
significantly limits the time they can
play, if the muscle is strained to the
point where they can’t participate
normally (that’s injury).”
The partnership between ECU
physical therapy and the Carolina
Hurricanes is a first. “To my
knowledge, it‘s the first time ECU
has partnered with a professional
team,” Williams said. “It’s not unique
in that colleges (across the country)
are involved with research in keeping
players healthy.”
ECU physical therapy department
chairman Dr. Walt Jenkins began
his sport injury research years ago in
trying to reduce knee injuries with the
women’s basketball team. “It’s sort of a
model we work off of,” Williams said.
Most athletic injuries, if not a
result of a traumatic event, are due
to overuse. Others are more sport-specific.
“We’ve had to learn a lot
about hockey injury and hockey
movement,” Williams said.
The partnership with the
Hurricanes has been a good fit and
one ECU physical therapy wants to
continue by providing physical therapy
students as game day assistants to
the Hurricanes. ECU benefits by
generating clinically-oriented research
and data, and providing research
opportunities for faculty and students,
Williams said. “From the educational
perspective, it’s phenomenal for our
students to be working as physical
therapists in a professional sports
environment,” he said.
12 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 13
Into the workplace
Preceptors prepare students
for life after college
By Crystal Baity Graduate student T.J. Potts is training
on-the-job as a physician assistant
this year.
One of his eight rotations is at Bertie
Memorial Hospital in Windsor under
the experienced eye of emergency room
physician assistant Louis Velazquez.
Before they graduate, students in all
departments in the College of Allied
Health Sciences are placed in hospitals,
doctor’s offices, or other field sites,
where they work with a preceptor, or
clinical teacher, who plays a vital role in
their education.
Velazquez has been a preceptor since
the physician assistant studies program
began at East Carolina University in
1996. It is the only state-supported
program in the UNC system, and
graduates have consistently achieved
a 100 percent pass rate on their state
licensing exams.
Students consistently rank the
rotation with Velazquez as one of
their best, said Julie Daniel-Yount,
clinical education coordinator for
the ECU Department of Physician
Assistant Studies.
In addition to emergency medicine,
students must work six-week rotations
each in family medicine, pediatrics,
women’s health, general surgery,
internal medicine, behavioral medicine
and geriatrics. Sites are in Raleigh,
Greenville and Wilmington, and in
rural locations outside those cities.
Settings include in and outpatient
facilities where students get operating
room experience and work with
patients across the lifespan.
“They may learn skills in the
classroom and lab, but it is different
dealing with patients every day in the
hospital,” Velazquez said. “They develop
a skill set. They develop a process for
how to take care of patients. I try to
bring to students that your profession
doesn’t end when you walk out the door.
What you do reflects on who you are.
It’s that way in any profession.”
14 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 15
Photo at left, in the Bertie Memorial Hospital
emergency department, ECU physician
assistant student T.J. Potts props by a door
with Julie Daniel-Yount, ECU clinical
education coordinator, as physician assistant
Louis Velazquez and lab technologist Stephanie
Swain evaluate Bryan Foster, who was having
stomach pain. Photo at right, Gwen Taylor,
left, a senior medical technologist, works with
ECU clinical laboratory science student Joshua
Pruiett in the hematoloy lab at PCMH, one
of the largest training sites for ECU students.
In a small town, running into a
patient at a store or restaurant is not
unusual. “When you see someone and
they say ‘you treated me well’ or ‘I feel
much better since I saw you,’ that’s
the beauty of working in a rural area,”
Velazquez said.
He loves working with students,
and is a guest lecturer at ECU. Some
preceptors say having students in the
workplace adds a special dimension to
patient care. Others teach because they
want to give back to their profession,
Daniel-Yount said.
“We have offices call and offer to
precept when they are seeking a PA
to hire in the future,” she said. “Each
rotation is sort of like a six-week job
interview for the student and clinic.”
Velazquez, another physician assistant
and nurse practitioner are the sole
providers in the hospital after 5 p.m. He
works a 24-hour shift as do students.
“They’re here like I’m here,” said
Velazquez, who as a licensed physician
assistant practices under a supervising
physician, Dr. Phil Harris, emergency
department director at Bertie.
Ninety percent of the patients coming
to the emergency department are treated
and sent back home, but about 10
percent require admission to the six-bed
hospital or transfer to another hospital.
Frequent complaints range from high
blood pressure and aching backs to
urinary tract infections or the flu, which
surprises some students.
“They expect a high-energy thing
that they see on TV. Maybe it’s like that
at Pitt (County Memorial Hospital in
Greenville), but it’s not like that here,”
Velazquez said. “Everybody depends on
everybody to pull their part, to start an
IV, clean a bed, change sheets.”
Potts’ first day – Valentine’s Day –
was the busiest at the hospital in many
years. He gave CPR to someone with
heart arrhythmia and saw 44 patients.
“For here, that’s a lot,” he said.
The work in Windsor is similar to
what Potts would like to do when he
graduates. “I want to work in rural health
care,” Potts said. “There is a need for
rural practice. And I’m from a rural area.”
Potts earned a construction
management degree from ECU, and
worked in behavioral health with special
needs patients before deciding to return
to school. He took more than a year of
pre-requisite courses before he applied.
“I feel very fortunate to be in the
program,” said Potts, 30, who grew up
in Advance.
The college has more than 1,400
contracts with agencies that provide
preceptors across North Carolina
and out-of-state, said Frankie Lynn
McClure, contracts clerk for allied
health sciences.
One of the largest training sites
is Pitt County Memorial Hospital
in Greenville.
Joshua Pruiett, an ECU clinical
laboratory science student from
Chattanooga, Tenn., is working part of
his final semester with Gwen Taylor,
a senior medical technologist in the
hematology lab at PCMH.
Taylor has been a preceptor for eight
years. She normally has two or three
students per 28-day rotation in the lab,
which conducts tests on blood and
other body fluids and analyzes results
in helping doctors diagnose or rule
out disease such as sickle cell anemia
and leukemia.
“I’m behind the scenes but still play
a part in the patient’s healing process,”
Taylor said.
She organizes the student schedule,
evaluates their work, meets with their
academic advisor and “develops a plan
to make sure they get what they need
to get ready to go into the workplace,”
Taylor said. “In a classroom, they get
theory. Here, we apply the need to the
theory part.”
The lab is one of four that students
rotate through at PCMH. The others
are the blood bank, chemistry and
microbiology.
“In the labs, we’re hands on,” Taylor
said. “You take what you have learned
and apply it.”
Pruiett said working in the hospital
lab is more enjoyable than sitting in a
classroom. “It enhances it, and ties it all
together and allows you to put theory
to work. Everything is practical.”
With an undergraduate degree in
biology, Pruiett said getting a degree in
clinical laboratory science is a desirable
step toward his career goal. “There is a
lot of variety in the field,” he said. “You
don’t get pigeonholed in one area.”
PCMH set a new record for total
lab test activity in February, according
to George Williams, administrator of
clinical lab/pathology at PCMH. The
level 1 trauma center has 861 beds and
is one of the largest in the state.
“The amount of throughput through
this hospital, it services a large area. You
certainly get a taste of that,” Pruiett
said. The lab serves the hospital and
two satellite locations. Turnaround
times for tests range from 20 minutes
to eight hours.
Not every student will work in a
large hospital. But the skills students
learn working with preceptors, like
troubleshooting and time management,
transfer to smaller facilities as well.
Students are treated like employees.
“As a preceptor, I need to give them
behavior to model,” said Taylor, who
has worked at PCMH for 21 years. She
graduated from ECU with a bachelor’s
degree in medical technology in 1990.
At the end of their rotations,
students should be able to step into
an entry-level lab position and be
prepared to take and pass the national
certification exam, Pruiett said.
While coordinators for some
programs said they have not had
problems placing students in
internships, others scramble to find
training sites for students.
More physical therapy students are
requesting and selecting placements
in state since they are in debt for
undergraduate degrees and don’t have
the funds to travel to hospitals and
clinics out of state, said Dr. Patricia
Hodson, clinical associate professor
and director of clinical education for
physical therapy. More credentialed
clinical instructors in physical therapy
are needed as well. She places 90
students in 120 sites each year.
“With an increase in the number of
DPT programs in North Carolina and
an increase in the number of students
seeking clinical affiliations in North
Carolina, it has become increasingly
difficult to assign students,” Hodson
said. “Another issue is lack of available
low cost or free housing.”
When Velazquez worked in Ahoskie
before moving to Bertie, he collaborated
with the Eastern Area Health Education
Center to acquire a home where
students can live while they intern in
northeastern North Carolina to address
the housing issue. It is still a popular
choice today.
Dr. Jane Painter, professor
and occupational therapy clinical
coordinator, said it has been challenging
finding pediatric settings for students.
Some students who are from out-of-state
choose to go back home to do
their field work, Painter said.
Rehabilitation studies students
seeking a bachelor’s degree must
complete 450 internship hours, while
master’s degree students are required
to complete 600 internship hours, said
Dr. Martha Chapin, associate professor
and director of the undergraduate
rehabilitation services program. They
have 361 sites in North Carolina,
some that date back to 1968. Their
largest internship sites are at PCMH,
PORT Human Services, Walter B. Jones
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment
Center, the North Carolina Division of
Vocational Rehabilitation Services, and
Changing Seasons Treatment Services,
Chapin said.
16 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 17
Federal funds support ECU research,
treatment for active military and veterans
Returning
from war
By Crystal Baity Benjamin McHugh is adjusting to his
new normal while searching for a cure
for his dizziness.
The 23-year-old corporal suffered
a blast injury last June while on patrol
in Afghanistan after his four-man team
hit an improvised explosive device or
IED. A mild traumatic brain injury has
left him with short-term memory loss,
dizziness, constant headaches,
and balance problems.
“I didn’t notice most of it at first,” he
said. After returning to Camp Lejeune
from his only combat deployment,
friends noticed his lack of agility, his
forgetfulness, his inability to walk
straight ahead in a mall or restaurant.
“They said, ‘what’s wrong with you?’“
Now McHugh is in physical
therapy three times a week, and sees a
neurologist, speech therapist and other
rehabilitation specialists. His doctors at
Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune referred
him to East Carolina University’s speech
and hearing clinic, where he is being
evaluated by Dr. Sherri Jones, an expert in
inner ear disorders and associate professor
of communication sciences and disorders.
Jones and doctoral student Kristal
Mills are conducting a clinical research
project to pinpoint the damaged part of
the complex vestibular and balance system
to provide the best treatment possible.
“My hope is just to find out what’s
wrong,” McHugh said. “If you can’t
figure out the problem, you can’t fix it.”
Through Operation Re-entry North
Carolina, ECU aims to study and treat
the problems of combat Marines such
as McHugh and thousands of other
military service personnel. The $2.4
million federally-earmarked project
involves different departments on campus
and a five-year agreement between the
U.S. Army and ECU.
Dr. David Cistola, project director,
said it addresses the three “R’s:”
reintegration, re-entry and resilience of
military personnel.
In the photo at left, ECU doctoral student
Kristal Mills checks Benjamin McHugh’s
ears before starting a vestibular and balance
assessment. At right, McHugh sits in a rotary
chair in ECU’s speech and hearing clinic as
Mills prepares for his test. Below, an infrared
camera records McHugh’s eye movements in
response to computer-generated stimulation of
his vestibular system.
Some of the clinical treatment and
research into traumatic brain injury
and post traumatic stress disorder was
already being developed in various
departments when Cistola joined ECU
in 2008 as associate dean of research in
the College of Allied Health Sciences.
One of his duties was to build
collaborative projects. He found a focus
with eastern North Carolina’s heavy
concentration of military bases and
population of active duty and retired
soldiers. His task was to bring it all
together and keep the momentum going.
Already in place was the Training for
Optimal Performance Program started
by Dr. Carmen Russoniello in the
psychophysiology lab and biofeedback
clinic in the Department of Recreation
and Leisure Studies.
A computer program called “Virtual
Iraq” can recreate a soldier’s wartime
experiences, from patrolling on a road
to riding in a Humvee. Russoniello’s
biofeedback training helps service
members recognize and control their
reactions in the simulated scenario, which
they can use when they feel stressed or
anxious in everyday life.
In the College of Human Ecology,
child development and family relations
experts have been holding workshops
for families of reservists coping with
deployment for the past four years.
ECU interior design and merchandising
students helped in the design of the
wounded warrior barracks project at
Camp Lejeune.
Studying the signature
injury
Traumatic brain injury from blasts is
the signature injury of today’s war,
Cistola said, and causes concussion-like
symptoms that often overlap with
post traumatic stress disorder. Service
members, many with lengthy and
multiple deployments, are surviving
physical injuries that they might not
have in previous wars due to advances in
protective gear and training.
In Jones’ lab, McHugh is put through a
two-to-three hour comprehensive battery
to evaluate his inner ear.
Part of the assessment involves
strapping on an infrared video camera
to record McHugh’s eye movements
in response to computer-generated
stimulation of his vestibular system
while he sits in a rotary chair. Other
tests require him to move his head or
body in different positions, or wear
electrodes on the skin overlying his neck
muscles or at his ears. Some of the tests,
done in silent, darkened control rooms,
are so monotonous that he falls asleep.
Jones’ team has evaluated more
than 100 Marines with blast-induced
dizziness or other balance problems
referred from Naval Hospital Camp
Lejeune, and every week brings new
referrals. ECU now has one of the
largest databases on vestibular function
following blast injury in the country,
Jones said.
Already there are some unexpected
preliminary findings.
“When a person is exposed to a
blast, the theory was the pressure wave
damages the air and fluid-filled organs,
which the inner ear fits in that category,”
Jones said.
But so far data shows that only a
small percentage of individuals exposed
to blast actually have inner ear damage.
“If it’s not the inner ear, then what is
it?” Jones said.
Defense funding will allow Jones
to start a new study in collaboration
with military physicians and Dr. Blaise
Williams and Dr. Leslie Allison in
ECU’s physical therapy department
to see how the brain integrates all its
sensory information for balance.
“Our hypothesis is the brain is
weighting those sensory inputs differently
18 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 19
after blast exposure,” Jones said. “The
brain isn’t looking at the information
properly. If it focuses on vision when it
should be using vestibular, a person can
become off balance.”
Many wounded service members
go through a standard vestibular
rehabilitation program but don’t see
progress beyond a certain level, Jones
said. For a Marine, that might be 50
percent to 75 percent of normal. “These
individuals are very physically fit and
active. They’re not used to not feeling
well or being sedentary,” Jones said.
McHugh is among them although,
to the average eye, he looks in tip-top
condition. “I can’t run. I get way too
dizzy and light headed,” he said. “I used
to love to run. I’ve gotten way out
of shape.”
There is a lot more to learn about
what happens when someone is
exposed to blast. “It’s a combination of
expertise that’s necessary to solve these
problems,” she said.
A new tool coming to Greenville
that will be available to researchers
throughout the UNC system will be a
blast simulator laboratory. One of six
in the world, researchers will be able
to study the impact of blast on blood,
tissue and other body parts.
Findings eventually may lead to a
quick and reliable test for mild traumatic
brain injury closer to the battlefield,
Cistola said. The point of diagnosis
matters in determining treatment,
documentation and discharge. “And it
determines what happens when they
walk into a VA hospital three years from
now,” Cistola said.
Funding and pending
projects
ECU’s Vice Chancellor for Research
and Graduate Studies Dr. Deirdre
Mageean coined the term “Operation
Re-entry” and she and Cistola gained the
support of U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield
and U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, who
championed it in Congress. While $2.4
million in Department of Defense funds
was allocated in the 2010 budget, none
has been released to ECU. Another $2.2
million is expected, but not guaranteed,
this year. Operation Re-entry will begin
with about 10 projects, but has the
potential to expand to 30 projects a year
throughout the UNC system. A project
manager will be hired.
“There is so much support for caring
for returning veterans,” Cistola said. “We
won’t stop trying if it happens, and we’ll
do it anyway if it doesn’t.”
Some “shovel-ready” projects can’t
begin until federal funding arrives.
In occupational therapy, department
chair Dr. Leonard Trujillo, a veteran
himself, will use the Interactive
Metronome, a computerized assessment
and treatment tool that prompts users to
match repetitive rhythmic patterns while
tapping their feet or clapping their hands.
The therapy will help active duty service
members with mild traumatic brain injury
improve hand and eye coordination,
fine and gross motor skills, and mental
organization. Trujillo’s past work with
stroke patients and the Interactive
Metronome have shown improvement.
Occupational therapy graduate
students also will use TRX training,
a portable exercise system adopted by
the military, to help service members
improve strength and coordination. The
sessions can be done anywhere.
“When you’re active and feel you’re
engaged, the outlook on life is much
more positive,” Trujillo said. “This will
help them return to a sense of urgency
and place.”
Dr. Paul Toriello and two doctoral
students in the Department of
Rehabilitation Studies will pilot a
computerized screening test and brief
intervention for substance abuse, mental
illness and mild traumatic brain injury
with Pitt County veterans.
Research has shown that 46 percent
of veterans have a substance use disorder,
11 percent have mental illness and
60 percent report symptoms of mild
traumatic brain injury.
“Of particular concern is how these
three conditions interact to impair
veterans’ lives,” Toriello said.
Studies show that more than 34
percent of veterans with a primary
substance use disorder have a
co-occurring mental illness. Half with
mild traumatic brain disorder also have
substance use issues. In fact, alcohol
use by someone with brain injury can
exacerbate symptoms of aggression and
memory loss, Toriello said.
According to Pitt County Veterans
Service, more than 10,500 veterans live
in Pitt County. Extrapolating from the
data from earlier studies suggests “a
majority of Pitt County veterans may
be attempting to cope with these three
conditions, any one of which can cause
serious problems and, when experienced
in combination, can be significantly
debilitating,” Toriello said.
Looking forward
McHugh will be leaving the 3rd
Battalion, 6th Marine Division after
five years of service in June. He plans
to go to college and hopefully into
the reserves. For now, he carries a day
planner filled with doctor appointments
and other important dates to remember
since his short-term memory is
affected. A car enthusiast and mechanic,
McHugh, at the good-natured ribbing
of friends, will double and triple check
his work when asked if he remembered
a repair step.
For researchers, Operation Re-entry
is a way to give back to service men and
women who have sacrificed for freedom.
It puts in place greater support services
and programs for returning injured
soldiers today and decades to come. “It
provides an extra level of motivation,”
Cistola said.
Dr. David Cistola, project director for
Operation Re-entry North Carolina, works in
his lab. He is developing diagnostic markers for
blast exposure.
20 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 21
Leadership for all
Giving students the tools they need
to work inter-professionally
By Crystal Baity Trey Elam’s leadership experience
started early, in church, where he
still volunteers as a Baptist Men’s
Association World Changer.
The 24-year-old occupational therapy
graduate student is student liaison
to the dean’s office and he chairs the
Student Leaders Council in the College
of Allied Health Sciences. He heads
a group of 14 student representatives
from each of the degree-granting
departments in the college.
His undergraduate degree is in
recreational therapy. One of his favorite
leadership roles was as a Babe Ruth
baseball coach for 13-15 year olds in
Fairmont, his hometown.
As a longtime volunteer for World
Changers, he supervised crews of
teenagers who repaired roofs and
windows or painted houses for the
needy. Three years of overseeing young
workers with no construction experience
in places such as Chattanooga, Norfolk
and across North Carolina reinforced
the importance of teamwork.
“If you’re a leader in anything, you’ve
got to learn how to distribute tasks,”
Elam said. “I learned to be a delegator.”
Honing those leadership skills hasn’t
been happenstance.
A plan to promote student leadership
in the College of Allied Health Sciences
has come straight from the top, from
Dean Stephen Thomas to council
advisor Dr. Beth Velde to Elam’s research
mentor Dr. Leonard Trujillo.
Training and preparing leaders is one
of five strategic directions adopted by
ECU. Developing student leaders is an
integral part of student education, Dr.
Thomas said.
“Allied health professionals must be
change agents as health care changes to
adapt with societal needs,” Velde said.
“Preparing our students to be leaders is
the first step in the process.”
Student leadership is a key
component in the college’s strategic
plan. Students get broad leadership
opportunities. Courses stress and
reinforce leadership skills. The
college also recognizes students who
demonstrate ability as leaders.
The college received a $20,000
BB&T grant in December to expand
its preparation of student leaders and
to work closely with the College of
Nursing, its neighbor in the Health
Sciences Building. In the working world,
physical therapists, speech language
pathologists or rehabilitation counselors
work side by side with nurses and
doctors as part of a health care team.
“With the many changes occurring in
health care delivery, we will need a cadre
of future leaders to help find new ways
to make health care economically viable
and effective. It takes strong leadership
to bring about successful improvements
in health care,” Thomas said. “A critical
role of leadership will be the creation of
an inter-professional health care culture
where the many health disciplines can
work together to advance better health
for everyone.”
At left, Trey Elam, wants to join the Navy
as an occupational therapist after graduation.
At right, Elam volunteers on a service project
at bingo night at Red Oak Assisted Living
Center in Greenville.
22 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 23
As part of the grant, officials
will work to strengthen mentoring
and faculty-student relationships. A
leadership conference on reinforcing
inter-professional skills and new courses
will be started for students in allied
health sciences, dental medicine, nursing
and medicine. Through the creation
of a health sciences leaders council
modeled after allied health’s student
leaders council, students in the health
sciences division will have the chance to
meet regularly to develop team working
skills and promote understanding of
professional differences and similarities.
“Hopefully, if students learn to
collaborate across disciplines while in
school, they will be better prepared to
enter the health care system able to work
effectively together,” said Dr. Elaine
Scott, director of the East Carolina
Center for Nursing Leadership.
Occupational therapy graduate
student Sarah Peterson already
participates in team work through
clinical field work and volunteering
at ECU’s Adapted Sports Day. There,
recreational therapists, physical therapists
and occupational therapists and others
come together to support athletes
with disabilities. “They are different
therapies, but together they make the
big picture,” Peterson said, adding that
sometimes patients don’t know the
difference between therapists. “We even
have pre-conceived notions ourselves.”
Robyn Sauls of Farmville, a graduate
student in speech language pathology, said
providing mentoring and collaboration
opportunities for students while in school
is important. “The current students in
undergraduate and graduate school are
the future of the workforce,” she said.
“It is essential that leaders help facilitate
the growth of students academically and
emotionally. We can always learn from
others’ experiences.”
Sauls has served as representative for
the Department of Communication
Sciences and Disorders on the student
leaders council. She said a council-sponsored
leadership workshop last fall
gave students an excellent opportunity
to discuss concerns, give suggestions and
create relationships with other advisors
and students in the college.
“The Student Occupational Therapy
Association advisor and I had a great
conversation and she helped me create
a handbook for my own organization,”
Sauls said.
Leadership and service
go hand in hand
In the College of Allied Health
Sciences, there are nine campus
organizations related to majors that
students can join to gain leadership
experience and community service.
Peterson coordinates the service
committee for the Student Occupational
Therapy Association, a job that has
pushed her out of her comfort zone.
She contacts various organizations for
possible service projects and schedules
and coordinates what the nine-person
committee decides.
“I tend to be shy, reserved,” said
Peterson, a Greenville native. “This is
different for me. I’ve always been more
of a follower. But this is one of those
things that I really wanted to do. I have
become more involved.”
Last year, SOTA teamed up with
Give to the Troops to prepare care
packages and send cards to 40 to 50
service members overseas. Students
donated their time and willpower
to Shepherd’s Helpers to build
wheelchair ramps for needy people in
the community. At Hope Lodge, the
committee led a Valentine’s craft project
for family members. They cooked
a meal at the Ronald McDonald
House, made shoeboxes for Operation
Christmas Child, and helped at-risk
girls with homework in Operation
Sunshine’s afterschool program.
Her favorite experience, one she did
on her own and not part of a student
group, has been working with the
exceptional children’s baseball league at
Elm Street Park, where she was paired
with a child for about six weeks last
summer. Children and adults of all
abilities get to participate.
“I want to make a difference,”
Peterson said. “I want to help others,
and by helping them, it helps me. It has
helped me grow so much.”
Sauls, who has an undergraduate
degree in exercise and sports science, is
president of the National Student Speech
Language and Hearing Association at
ECU, which has 118 members.
“It has been a completely different
experience because of the demands of
graduate school,” Sauls said. “Through
my current position, I feel I have learned
more about working in a professional
environment with a variety of people
at different levels. I feel like I have
developed more accountability as a leader
through NSSLHA and have increased
my ability to delegate tasks efficiently.”
Last semester, NSSLHA participated
in a fall festival for children in ECU’s
Speech Language and Hearing Clinic
and worked with the Pitt County
Department of Social Services to
adopt three children to provide clothes
and toys at Christmas. This semester,
students held a school supply drive for
the Kennedy Home of Kinston, and
sponsored a Relay for Life team in
memory of communication sciences and
disorders faculty member Meta Downes,
who died last spring from breast cancer.
Decision making and
personal growth
After attending a leadership conference in
2009, Peterson realized she never thought
of herself as a leader. “But everyone is
a leader in their own way, whether they
realize it or not,” she said. “I’ve had to
become more confident in myself.”
She also recognizes there are different
styles of leadership.
“I may be more quiet and reserved.
Some people will relate to me and my
way. We all have our different styles, and
they’re all effective,” Peterson said. “It’s
really important to listen to what other
people want.”
Being liaison for student leaders
council, focusing on class work and
field work and graduate research, and
other volunteer responsibilities seems
overwhelming at times.
“Finding a way to get all these things
accomplished is a good professional
experience,” Elam said. “That’s one way
I’m really growing.”
At left, Sarah Peterson coordinates the service
committee of the Student Occupational Therapy
Association. At right, occupational therapy
graduate students lead older drivers through
a 12-point checklist and recommend car
adjustments or adaptations during a CarFit
community service project in Greenville.
24 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 25
By Karen Shugart An East Carolina University professor is
among the creators of the first real-time,
remote diagnostic hearing assessment
that allows interaction between clinician
and patient – a low-cost development
that could bring much-needed treatment
to rural and low-income patients around
the world.
“There are people throughout the
world who have no access to professional
hearing health care,” said Dr. Gregg
Givens, chairman of the Department of
Communication Sciences and Disorders
and a practicing clinical audiologist.
“This gives clinicians the ability to
remotely diagnose and treat hearing loss.”
ECU and Otovation, a leading
provider of audiometer products for
hearing professionals and care providers
worldwide, are working together to make
the system available, with a projected
release date this year.
“Dr. Givens and his colleagues were
visionary in seeing this many years ago
as a potential improvement in assisting
and delivering care for patients,” said
Dave Davis, founder and president of
Otovation. “We at Otovation believe
very strongly in the quality of what they
have developed, and we look forward
to continuing to work with ECU in
developing and bringing this important
service to market.”
First interactive,
remote hearing test will
expand access to care
Hearing loss often goes untreated.
The National Institutes on Deafness
and Other Communication Disorders,
a federal agency, estimates that only one
in five people who could benefit from a
hearing aid actually wear one.
For rural and low-income populations,
access to hearing health care can be
scarce. In eastern North Carolina,
for instance, some counties have no
audiologist. “Hearing health care in
some of these communities just doesn’t
exist,” Givens said.
Innovations in telemedicine offer
ways to increase access to services while
improving quality of care and reducing
costs. With this new hearing system,
clinicians can remotely test patients
around the world through local or
area-wide networks as well as the Web.
Assessments can even be performed
using smart phones and tablet PCs.
The hearing test system will be
suitable for use in varied settings,
including nursing homes, schools,
hospitals, correctional facilities and
military settings.
Givens and his colleagues began
working on the project in the early
1990s as a way to get hearing care to
people in rural and under-served areas.
In the early years of development, they
were stymied by hurdles in software
and hardware development. The first
Internet-based test on campus was
conducted in the late 1990s, Givens
said. The first of two patents was issued
in 2005, and a third patent was issued
in December.
“It’s exciting to see something you
envisioned finally coming to reality,”
Givens said.
To learn more, contact Givens at
givensg@ecu.edu. or 252-744-6080.
For more information on Otovation,
contact Davis at dave@otovation.com
or 610-768-9300.
At left, Dr. Gregg Givens’ vision for a remote
hearing test has led to the development of a
much-needed tool for telemedicine. At right,
Givens demonstrates software that will increase
access to hearing tests in rural areas.
26 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 27
Alumni Profile
Healing
strength
Alumna Stacie Caswell
used her occupational
therapy training to help
other soldiers
At left, Stacie Caswell is an occupational
therapist at Mission Hospitals in Asheville.
On a tour of duty in Iraq, Caswell repairs
a flexor tendon for an injured Iraqi man.
By Karen Shugart At Mission Hospital in Asheville,
retired U.S. Army Maj. Stacie Caswell
gently coaxes inpatient rehabilitation
patients into doing what once were
simple tasks: walking to the bathroom,
brushing teeth, sitting up.
Don’t be fooled by the soft-spoken
manner, however. Caswell is no softie.
This ECU alumna is an occupational
therapist who knows how to get results
– and get answers. An Army-trained
linguist and interrogator, she has a
resume that’s full of stories – some
touching, some tragic – that bespeak of
a career that has its roots in Caswell’s
desire to help others, whether she’s in
Iraq or western North Carolina.
“For me, if I can make a difference
in somebody’s life, day-by-day, that’s
satisfaction,” Caswell said.
That desire has served her well.
In the 1990s, she trained as an
interrogator. In 2001, she debriefed
survivors of the terrorist attacks on the
Pentagon. She’s worked with soldiers
to help them cope with the rigors of
war. And she’s instituted a program
that trains dogs to be companions
for soldiers who might feel more
comfortable opening up to a Labrador
retriever than another human being.
“Dogs can take in that emotion,”
Caswell said. “They’re not going to
judge … they’re just going to keep
licking that soldier in the face.”
Caswell joined the Army fresh out
of high school, looking for a way to
pay for college. After Fort Jackson, she
studied Czech for a year at the Defense
Language Institute in Monterey, Calif.
She then trained as an interrogator
because she wanted a challenge.
Some people, Caswell admitted, have
difficulty picturing her as a hard-nosed
inquisitor. But information can be
obtained in many ways, Caswell said,
and she used her easygoing manner to
work in her favor.
“You don’t have to be mean to get
somebody to talk,” she said.
Today, that training comes in handy
in what might, at initial glance, be the
unlikeliest of places: the assisted living
center where she recently worked with
senior citizens and, now, at Mission
Hospital. The goals may be different,
but the drive for results is similar.
“In interrogation school, they taught
that everybody’s different and how
to use a different approach with your
source,” Caswell said. “You have to
figure out what approach will work.”
In 1993, Caswell enrolled in
ECU’s occupational therapy program.
Her professionalism stood out, said
Dr. Anne Dickerson, professor of
occupational therapy.
Dickerson remembers that Caswell
did a research project and presented a
poster at an American Occupational
Therapy Association conference – a
rarity then for an undergraduate student.
“When she graduated, to have the
determination to do a research project
and follow through on it was very
unusual,” Dickerson recalled.
Caswell continued to serve as
an Army Reservist, and soon after
graduation rejoined active duty when
she was commissioned as a second
lieutenant in the Army Medical
Specialist Corps.
“I figured if I could help soldiers,
then that’s what I needed to be doing,”
Caswell said.
Her ability to draw people out helped
after Sept. 11, when terrorists crashed
American Airlines Flight 77 into the
Pentagon. Then assigned to Walter Reed
Medical Center, Caswell was asked to
debrief survivors. These debriefings, in
which people are brought together for
an opportunity to talk about a traumatic
event, helped survivors identify ways to
cope. She and her team worked with
men and women who were among those
closest to where the attack occurred.
“They barely walked away,” she said.
“They talked about how they crawled
through the smoke. And how they got
home having lost their wallet, didn’t
have any money …How their spouses
thought they might have died.”
Today, the memory gives her pause.
“Those were some of the most
difficult debriefings I’ve ever done,”
Caswell said. “You never expect to
witness or have to debrief a traumatic
event of that magnitude on American
land. Emotion was very high, and their
detail of the event was so acute that it
really stayed with us.”
Then came two tours in Iraq, where
she led a combat-stress detachment that
helped soldiers deal with their problems,
both combat- and home-related.
As she visited patrol bases during
her first deployment, she noticed many
soldiers had dogs or cats. Owning pets
violated policy, but it gave soldiers,
particularly those in caretaker roles,
a release.
“They want to be a pillar of strength,”
Caswell said, but with a dog or cat,
they could cry. Upon her return to the
states, she related this to a colleague
who suggested Caswell start a program
to use therapy dogs in a combat zone.
It was another way to support soldiers,
who often miss their pets dearly while
deployed, Caswell believed.
Her superiors agreed, and the
therapy-dog program has now become
standard practice. The program was one
of several reasons Caswell was awarded
a Meritorious Service Medal – one
of several commendations, including
two Bronze Stars, that Caswell received
before retiring in 2010.
At her retirement celebration, Caswell
honored Dickerson for mentoring her
at ECU and after graduation. She also
honored a couple that had sent gift
packages to her in Iraq, Dickerson said.
“She’s just somebody that really
appreciates where she’s come from,”
Dickerson said. “… This is a story of
somebody working her way up to be the
best that she can be.”
28 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 29
Clinical Laboratory
Science
Joshua Pruiett, a senior from Hixson,
Tenn., received the W. James and Susan
T. Smith Scholarship for 2010. The
$1,000 scholarship is based on financial
need, academic performance and the
potential to contribute to the profession
of clinical laboratory science.
The scholarship recognizes more than
30 years of academic contribution to
ECU by Dr. Susan T. Smith, professor
emeritus and former chair of the clinical
laboratory science department, and her
late husband, Dr. W. James Smith, who
taught cell biology and biochemistry
in the Department of Biology at ECU
from 1966 until 1999.
Susan Smith is a clinical laboratory
scientist and biochemist who taught
clinical chemistry, immunology and
serology and professional issues from
1972 until 2001.
Seniors Jeanette McDaniel of King
George, Va., and Yolanda Wooten
of Bailey received the first Whitfield
Memorial Scholarship.
Each scholarship, valued at $1,075,
was awarded in recognition of acade-mic
performance, financial need,
community service and an interest
in clinical chemistry.
The scholarship is in memory of Mary
Beth Whitfield, who received a bachelor’s
degree in clinical laboratory science from
ECU in 1988. She worked at Pitt County
Memorial Hospital for 23 years, first in
the clinical chemistry department and
then in laboratory information systems.
After her sudden death in December
2009, PCMH colleagues donated funds
to establish the scholarship.
Communication Sciences
and Disorders
Doctoral student Kensi Cobb received
a Student Summer Research Fellowship
from the American Academy of
Audiology. The purpose of the
fellowship is to expose the student to a
stimulating research environment under
the guidance of a mentor. The title
of the project Cobb will be involved
in is “Effect of Altered Auditory
Feedback on Stuttering Duration and
Type in Adults Who Stutter During
Conversation.” Her mentor is Dr.
Andrew Stuart.
Meta M. Downes Scholarship –
Kristen Markel
Tanya Johnson McDowell & Riley
Floyd Scholarship – Courtney Durham
Robert A. Muzzarelli Service
Scholarship – Courtney Jackson
National Student Speech-Language
& Hearing Association Scholarships –
Ashley Whittenauer and Jessica Boykin
Denise Tetterton, a speech-language
pathology graduate student, received
the Barbara Bremer Award. The Bremer
Award is given annually to graduate
students in recognition of clinical work
that has made a recognizable difference
in the life of a client.
Barbara Bremer is an alumna
with a history of supporting ECU
students. She has a bachelor’s degree in
nursing and a master’s degree in speech-language
pathology from ECU. She
works in private practice.
Doctoral student Chris Gaines
received the American Academy
of Audiology Student Investigator
Vestibular Research Grant for 2011.
The grant was reviewed and
sponsored by the boards of the
American Academy of Audiology and
the American Academy of Audiology
Foundation and the Research Grant
Review Committee. The title of
the proposal, “Neural generators
of mammalian vestibular responses
to linear head motion,” is the topic
of his dissertation research. The
grant is funded in partnership with
the American Institute of Balance
Education Foundation.
Gaines also received a Student
Research Forum award from the AAA.
The award will provide travel support
to the annual convention in Chicago to
present his research project at a special
session. His research is under the
direction of Dr. Timothy Jones.
Doctoral student Teresa Lever won
the 2010 Helms Student Award from
the ECU Chapter of Sigma Xi.
The Helms Research Awards were
established by Dr. R. Marshall Helms
in 1987 with a donation to the ECU
Foundation. The award honors three
members of the Helms family who
were involved in research and teaching
at ECU. Marshall was a native North
Carolinian and member of the physics
department at ECU from 1948 until
his retirement as professor emeritus in
1972. He remained active in retirement,
Bate Foundation
Scholarship
Photo at left – students awarded The Bate
Foundation Scholarship are from left to
right: James C. Spicka, health services
and information management, Kathleen
Casto, clinical laboratory science, Melissa
Williamson, rehabilitation studies, Melissa
DeCarlo, physical therapy and Jamie
Camp, physician assistant studies. The
$4,000 scholarship is based on financial
need, academic performance and the potential
to contribute to the health care profession.
Scholarships
Nathan William Black, a 2003
graduate of the occupational therapy
program, died Jan. 21. He was 32.
Nathan lived in Long Beach,
Miss., until 1993 when he moved
to Statesville. He graduated from
Statesville High School in 1998.
While attending ECU, Black
worked as a part-time painter
and nude model. After receiving
his degree, he moved to Surfside
Beach, S.C., and earned his license
to practice occupational therapy.
He also earned a doctorate in
occupational therapy from the
University of Augustine. He worked
in home health specializing in
geriatric rehabilitation. He was an
avid runner, having completed two
marathons. He loved to read, the
ocean, and was a passionate ECU
and New Orleans Saints fan.
He was always happy and full of
life, ready to make anyone laugh
with a joke or comment. He was a
kind-hearted person who would do
anything for his friends and family
without hesitation.
Black is survived by his parents,
Murrey and Robin Black of
Louisville, Miss., and Dr. James
A. and Diane Smith of Statesville;
two brothers, Patrick and his wife,
Jennifer, of Shalimar, Fla., and
Murrey Lee and his wife, Julie, of
Myrtle Beach, S.C.; a sister, Lesley
Colvert and husband, Robert, of
Statesville; grandparents, W.L. and
Norma Black of Louisville, Miss.,
and Posey Freeman of Madison,
Miss.; step-brothers, Eddie Shenk
and John Young; step-sisters,
Annie Langston and April Turner
of Mobile, Ala.; and numerous
aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and
nephews, and special family friends
Patrick Jay and Loriann Witzigman
and their three sons of Myrtle
Beach, S.C.
The Freedom Scholarship
in occupational therapy is
being created in his memory.
Tax-deductible contributions can
be made to the ECU Medical
& Health Sciences Foundation,
525 Moye Blvd., Greenville, N.C.,
27834, or fill out and mail the
enclosed envelope in this issue, or
contact Pat Frede, 252-744-3523
or fredep@ecu.edu.
At left, Nathan Black holds the youngest
son of longtime friend, Patrick Witzigman,
on his graduation day from ECU.
In Memorial
Bate Foundation WINERS
30 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 31
Scholarships
presenting his last seminar to the physics
department in 2001 at the age of 93.
He died in 2002.
The Helms Student Research
Award focuses largely on the clarity
and significance of a single research
publication of which the student is an
author. The manuscript may be either
published, in press or in preparation and
may be submitted in any area of science
or engineering.
Jessica Pierce, a doctoral student,
received a travel award from
the Association for Research in
Otolaryngology to present her research
at the mid-winter meeting in Baltimore.
Her research mentor is Dr. Sherri Jones.
Health Services and
Information Management/
Community Health
Peter Chukwurah received the
Healthport Scholarship. The scholarship
assists deserving students majoring in
health information management.
Occupational therapy
Carolyn Fountain was awarded the
Jessica King Memorial Scholarship, which
provides support for students enrolled in
occupational therapy at ECU and who
are pursuing careers in gerontology.
Jessica King was a second year
graduate student in the occupational
therapy program with a keen interest
in older adults. A friend to all her
classmates and faculty members, it was
a loss to everyone when Jessica died
suddenly on Aug. 29, 2005. She was 26.
Physical Therapy
Jennifer Brewer, Jill Davis, Nancy Jo
Hodges and Christina Pate received
the George Hamilton Physical Therapy
Scholarship.
The ECU Physical Therapy Alumni
Society established the scholarship in
1995. The award is in honor of George
F. Hamilton, former chairman of the
department. The purpose of the schol-arship
is to assist deserving third-year
doctoral of physical therapy students.
The North Carolina Physical Therapy
Association awarded scholarships to
Nancy Jo Hodges and Molly Pleasants.
Hilary Bauer, a third-year doctoral
of physical therapy student from
Winston-Salem, was awarded the Blaise
M. Youngs Scholarship. This scholarship
recognizes academic merit and financial
need for physical therapy students.
Physician Assistant Studies
First year physician assistant student
Jamie Camp received the Bunting
Scholarship. The scholarship is funded
by Michael L. Bunting and is a one-time
award of $1,000 based on financial need
and scholarship.
Rehabilitation Studies
Phyllis St. John, a second year graduate
student, received the College of Allied
Health Sciences Patriot Scholarship.
The Patriot Scholarship is based on
academic strength, leadership capability
and the potential to contribute to a
profession in the field of allied health
sciences. Awardees must be a military
member of veteran, or the spouse or
child of a military member or veteran.
Jamie Pedro, an undergraduate
student, received the T.L. McClellan
Memorial Scholarship. The $1,000
scholarship recognizes and provides
financial assistance to full-time students
pursuing a degree in rehabilitation. The
purpose of the award is to promote
professional excellence in the practice
and advancement of rehabilitation in
North Carolina. T.L. McClellan was an
active member of the NCRA and this is
the 41st anniversary of the awarding of
the scholarship.
Development
By Pat Frede It is so good to be home! I sure took
a lot of things for granted before my
14-month deployment. I thought
I understood the importance of
education, but having spent 10 months
in a country where only 15 percent of
the population can both read and write,
there is no doubt that education can
change a person’s world.
As many of you know, I am the
director of development and alumni
affairs for the College of Allied Health
Sciences, but some of you also know
that I am a senior chief petty officer
in the United States Navy Reserve. I
was called to active duty in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom in 2009
and have recently returned from a tour
in Afghanistan.
Getting back to work at the university
has reminded me of how much there is
to do here at home. For our alumni, I
am so looking forward to homecoming
to reconnect with old friends and meet
new ones. Our theme is “It’s So Good
To Be Home!” so mark your calendars
for the weekend of Oct. 29 and come
home to ECU.
Your generosity has helped our college
in so many ways, but in this economic
environment, there is much more to do.
For our students, scholarship dollars
remain a significant factor in being able
to get a degree. However, now there
is additional important work to do.
The current state budget will not fund
student participation in professional
conferences. We all know that often
times the education we get outside
the classroom is equally important,
especially when it is the first time on
an aircraft or beyond the borders of
our great state of North Carolina. We
need to prepare our students to be more
than employees. They have to be leaders
in a global workforce. Participation in
professional development activities and
learning leadership competencies will
At top, Pat Frede greets a young boy while
serving in Afghanistan. At right, Frede
is pictured with James Spicka, a Bate
Foundation Scholarship winner and health
services and information management
student who will graduate in 2012.
place our students above the competition
in any profession.
I invite you to join the college’s giving
society, the “Alliance for Excellence.” You
can designate your gift to scholarship,
leadership and service, research, or the
priority fund of the area closest to your
heart. Please see the envelope in this
issue and tell us where you would like to
help bridge the gap between adequacy
and excellence.
Also visit our website, www.ecu.
edu/ah, to tell us what is new with
you and to keep up with what’s going
on with the college. You can check out
the photos of your “sandbox sailor’s”
adventures in foreign security force
training and in Afghanistan. Information
on homecoming will be posted on the
website as it becomes available.
In Afghanistan, the children were so
happy just to get notebooks and pencils
that came from the kindness of our
friends back home. Here in the United
States, we have so much to be thankful
for, the greatest of which is the choice to
pursue a better life. Please give today and
make a difference for every tomorrow!
Back in the USA
In the photo, Mallory Herbold of Jacksonville,
left, and Brittany Whitehurst of Windsor
received scholarships for 2011 in the
Department of Clinical Laboratory Science.
Herbold received the W. James and Susan
T. Smith Student Scholarship valued at
$1,000. It is named for former department
chair Susan Smith and her late husband.
Whitehurst received the Stas and Brenda
Humienny Scholarship valued at $1,000.
The Humiennys live in New Bern and are
1979 graduates of the department.
32 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 33
1973
George Williams (BS medical
technology), administrator of clinical
lab/pathology at Pitt County Memorial
Hospital, celebrates 38 years with
the hospital in June. In February, the
PCMH lab set a new record for total
lab test activity. University Health
Systems of Eastern Carolina, the parent
company for PCMH, now has eight
hospitals. PCMH has grown to one of
the largest hospitals in the state with
861 beds, with plans for a pediatric
emergency department and a new
Children’s Hospital.
1974
Kay Gooding (BS health information
management, ’80 MAEd) received the
2010 Triumph Pioneer Award from
the American Health Information
Management Association. She directs
the health information technology
program at Pitt Community College,
overseeing a 13-state health information
management training consortium. It
was one of the first online programs in
North Carolina. Last year, she helped
PCC secure a $10.9 million grant from
the U.S Department of Health and
Human Services to prepare thousands
of new health information technology
professionals needed to create electronic
health records. She earned a master’s of
public health from the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
1977
Johnnie Sexton (BS speech language
pathology, MS audiology ’79) has
launched The CARE Project, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to
bringing hope to families who have
children and/or adults with hearing
challenges through counseling experi-ences
aimed at the processing of the
emotional stages of grief. CARE is also
a tool for teaching professionals and
pre-professionals about the importance
of active listening with their clients and
patients. For more information, go to
www.thecareproject.me
1981
Eileen Rodri Carter (BS physical
therapy, MBA ’91) of Wilson was
elected chief delegate for the North
Carolina Physical Therapy Association.
She will serve the chapter in the House
of Delegates for two years. Carter is
owner and president of Comprehensive
Rehab of Wilson.
1987
Tanya McDowell (MS speech language
and auditory pathology) received the
Clinical Achievement Award for 2010
from the North Carolina Speech
Language and Hearing Association.
She has presented several workshops on
apraxia, and is a child advocate serving
children with speech language needs in
her private practice, Let’s Talk Speech
and Language Services in Raleigh.
James Parietti (MS physical therapy)
has joined Eagle Center Physical
Therapy in Anchorage, Alaska, as a
physical therapist.
2006
Michele Glincosky Garcia (MS
speech language pathology) works for
the Fort Worth, Texas, Independent
School District.
Cynthia Taylor (MS occupational
therapist) is director and owner
of Carolina Therapy Connection
in Greenville.
Timothy J. Wood (MS rehabilitation
studies) of Charlotte is executive
director of FamiliFirst, a company that
developed a model of family therapy
called family centered treatment. It is
a nationally-recognized evidence-based
practice and model of treatment in four
states including North Carolina. Visit
www.familycenteredtreatment.com.
2007
Stephanie Price (BS occupational
therapy) works in the outpatient
rehabilitation clinic at Tampa General
Hospital in Tampa, Fla. Price and a
patient were featured in “Molly’s Story”
on the hospital’s website, www.tgh.org.
2009
Casi Mooring (MS physician assistant
studies) has joined Eastern Psychiatric
& Behavioral Specialists in Greenville
where she provides medical management
to patients with behavioral and/or
emotional issues.
Class Notes
2011 Alliance 35
Occupational Therapy
Leonard G. Trujillo, PhD, OTR/L,
FAOTA
Associate Professor and Chair
Anne E. Dickerson, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Professor
Denise Donica, DHS, OTR/L, BCP
Assistant Professor
Annette Jones, MBA, OTR/L
Clinical Instructor and Admissions Coordinator
Carol Lust, EdD, OTR/L
Assistant Professor
Jane Painter, EdD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Professor
Academic Fieldwork Coordinator
Beth Velde, PhD, OTR/L
Professor
Kathy Benitez
Administrative Support Associate
Margaret Moody
Administrative Support Associate
Physical Therapy
Walter L. Jenkins, PT, DHS, LATC, ATC
Associate Professor and Chair
Bruce C. Albright, PhD, PT
Professor
Leslie Allison, PhD, PT
Assistant Professor
Sonja Bareiss, PhD, PT
Assistant Professor
Amy Gross McMillan, PhD, PT
Assistant Professor
Patricia S. Hodson, PT, DPT, PCS
Clinical Associate Professor and
Director of Clinical Education
Sarah Johnson, DPT
Clinical Instructor
Terry Jones, PhD
Associate Professor
Dean’s Office
Stephen W. Thomas, EdD
Professor and Dean
Kevin O’Brien, PhD
Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
David Cistola, MD, PhD
Professor and Associate Dean for Research
Beth Velde, PhD
Professor and Assistant Dean for Special Projects
Vicki Johnson
Dean’s Administrative Assistant
Kit Roberson
Director of Marketing
Pattie Wilson
Budget/Accounting
Jeanne Horton
Personnel/Facilities
Frankie Lynn McClure
Contracts Clerk
Wendy B. Smith
Grants and Contracts Administrator
Robert Fainter, PhD, Director
Office of Educational Technology
Jean Merenda, MS
Electronic Learning Coordinator
Patrice M. Frede
Director of Development & Alumni Affairs
Jan Aycock
Academic Advisor
Stephanie Bailey
Academic Advisor
Biostatistics
Paul Vos, PhD
Professor and Chair
Andrada Ivanescu, PhD
Assistant Professor
Jason Brinkley, PhD
Assistant Professor
Xiangming Fang, PhD
Assistant Professor
Suzanne Hudson, PhD
Associate Professor
Kevin O'Brien, PhD
Professor
Qiang Wu, PhD
Assistant Professor
Rhonda Bode
Administrative Support Associate
Clinical Laboratory Science
Kathleen Schulman, MS, MT(ASCP)
Clinical Assistant Professor and Acting Chair
David Cistola, MD, PhD
Professor
P. Karen Sullivan, PhD, SM(ASCP),
MT(ASCP)
Associate Professor
Ann C. McConnell, MAEd, MLS
(ASCP)CM
Laboratory Manager/Adjunct Faculty
Doris Johnson
Administrative Support Assoc.
Communication Sciences
and Disorders
Gregg Givens, PhD
Professor and Chair
Mark Allen
Technologist for Distance Learning
Rose Allen, PhD
Associate Professor
Director, Distance Education
Laura J. Ball, PhD, CCC-SLP
Associate Professor
Deborah Bengala, MA, CCC-SLP
Clinical Associate Professor
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Kathleen T. Cox, PhD, CCC-SLP
Associate Professor
Deborah S. Culbertson, PhD
Clinical Associate Professor
Director of Clinical Operations
Director, Audiology Clinic
Monica Hough, PhD, CCC-SLP
Professor
Director of Graduate Studies
Kelly P. James, MA, CCC-SLP
Clinical Supervisor
Sherri M. Jones, PhD
Associate Professor
Timothy A. Jones, PhD
Professor
Joseph Kalinowski, PhD
Professor
Lori Kincannon, MS, CCC-SLP
Clinical Supervisor
Julia T. Morrow, MA, CCC-SLP
Clinical Instructor
Coordinator of External Clinical Education
Heather Ramsdell, PhD
Assistant Professor
Michael Rastatter, PhD
Professor
Sharon Rutledge, AuD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Martha (Betty) Smith, PhD, CCC-SLP
Clinical Professor
Andrew Stuart, PhD, CCC-A, Aud(C)
Professor
Marianna Walker, PhD, CCC-SLP
Associate Professor
Sherri Winslow, MS, CCC-SLP
Clinical Supervisor
Dena Harrell
Administrative Support Associate
Cynthia Cox
Administrative Support Associate
Emerette Dominy
Administrative Support Associate
Wendy Harding
Administrative Support Associate
Health Services and Information
Management/Community Health
Xiaoming Zeng, MD, PhD
Associate Professor and Chair
Paul Bell, PhD, RHIA, CTR
Professor
Myra M. Brown, MBA, RHIA
Associate Professor
Robert Campbell, EdD, CPEHR
Assistant Professor
Leigh Cellucci, PhD, MBA
Associate Professor
Susie T. Harris, PhD, RHIA, CCS
Assistant Professor
Michael H. Kennedy, PhD, MHA, FACHE
Associate Professor
Acting Program Director, Health Services Management
Robert Kulesher, PhD
Associate Professor
Elizabeth Layman, PhD, RHIA, CCS,
FAHIMA
Professor
Thomas Ross, PhD
Assistant Professor
Pat Royal, EdD
Assistant Professor
Bonita Sasnett, EdD
Assistant Professor
Jennifer Pitt
Administrative Support Associate
Rosa Harris
Administrative Support Associate
Faculty and Staff
Sue Leach, PT, PhD, NCS
Assistant Professor
Jacob Thorp, DHS, PT
Clinical Assistant Professor
D.S. Williams, PhD, PT
Associate Professor
Kevin Youngs, MPT
Clinical Assistant Professor
Karen Eastwood
Administrative Support Associate
Leslie Hargrave
Administrative Support Associate
Melanie Wingler
Clinic Administrative Staff
Physician Assistant Studies
Carolyn Pugh, MHS, PA-C
Clinical Assistant Professor and Interim Chair
Kelly Brillant, MPH, PA-C
Clinical Assistant Professor
Elizabeth Bunting, PA-C
Clinical Coordinator
Clinical Assistant Professor
J. Patrick Carter, MPAS, PA-C
Clinical Assistant Professor
Julie Daniel-Yount, MHS, PA-C
Clinical Assistant Professor
Clinical Education Coordinator
Larry P. Dennis, MPAS, PA-C
Associate Professor
Jane Trapp, MSEd, PA-C
Clinical Associate Professor
Tonya Jefferson
Administrative Support Associate
Faye Hodges
Administrative Support Associate
Rehabilitation Studies
Lloyd Goodwin, PhD, LPC, CRC-MAC,
LCAS, CCS, ACS
Professor and Interim Chair
Paul P. Alston, PhD, CRC
Professor
Martha H. Chapin, PhD, LPC, CRC,
CDMS, NCC
Associate Professor
Director of Undergraduate Rehabilitation
Services; Coordinator of the Alcohol
and Drug Studies Minor
Mary Crozier, EdD, CSAC, CPP
Assistant Professor
Coordinator of the Substance Abuse Counseling
Certificate Program
Michael T. Hartley, PhD, CRC
Assistant Professor
Stephen Leierer, PhD
Associate Professor
Nathalie Mizelle, PhD, CRC, LPC
Assistant Professor
Shari Sias, PhD, LPC
Associate Professor
Director of the Substance Abuse & Clinical
Counseling Program
Steven R. Sligar, EdD, CVE
Assistant Professor
Director of Vocational Evaluation
Mark A. Stebnicki, PhD, LPC,
CRC, CCM
Professor
Director of Rehabilitation Counseling
Sharon Shallow, MAEd
Clinical Instructor
Stephen W. Thomas, EdD, CRC, CVE
Professor
Paul Toriello, RhD
Associate Professor
Director of Doctoral Studies
Cathy Moore
Administrative Support Associate
Judy Harrison
Administrative Support Associate
34 Alliance 2011
36 Alliance 2011
in Florida and in the Onslow, Craven
and Pitt county school systems in
North Carolina. Her interests are in the
areas of autism and augmentative and
alternative communication.
Stephen Leierer, associate professor in
the Department of Rehabilitation Studies,
received his doctorate
from Florida State
University, and
worked at LSU and
the University of
Memphis before
joining ECU’s
faculty. Leierer will
work primarily in
the doctoral program in rehabilitation
counseling and administration.
Heather L. Ramsdell, assistant
professor in the Department of
Communication Sciences and Disorders,
received a bachelor’s degree in speech-language
pathology
and audiology from
Iona College, a
master’s degree in
communication
disorders from
Boston University,
and a doctorate from
The University of
Memphis. She previously worked as a
coordinator of the vocal and speech
development project at the University
of Memphis and as a speech-language
pathologist in the Memphis City
School District. Her research and
teaching interests span phonetics,
phonology and psycholinguistics. She
is developing a research laboratory to
study infant vocal development with
future hopes to better predict later
language outcomes and to identify early
anomalies in development.
Elizabeth Bunting, clinical assistant
professor in the Department of
Physician Assistant Studies, received
a bachelor’s degree in zoology from
North Carolina
State University
and a master’s
degree in physician
assistant studies
from East Carolina
University. She will
be concentrating on
clinical rotations
during the second year of the physician
assistant studies curriculum and guest
lecturing for other courses.
J. Patrick Carter, clinical assistant
professor in the Department of
Physician Assistant Studies, received a
bachelor’s degree
in biology from
the University of
Kansas, a bachelor’s
degree in physician
assistant studies
from Wichita State
University, and
a master’s degree
in physician assistant studies with a
concentration in emergency medicine
from the University of Nebraska.
Carter has been a preceptor for ECU
for more than nine
years and has more
than 13 years of
clinical practice in
emergency medicine.
Emilie “Leigh”
W. Cellucci,
associate professor
in the Department
of Health Services and Information
Management, received a bachelor’s
degree in sociology from The College
of Charleston, a master’s
degree in sociology from
the College of William and
Mary, a doctorate in sociology from the
University of Virginia, and a master’s
of business administration from
Idaho State University. Her research
interests focus on the management of
health care organizations, including
the introduction and use of electronic
health records in health care settings.
Sarah E. Johnson has joined the
faculty in the Department of Physical
Therapy. Johnson received a bachelor’s
degree in exercise
physiology, a
master’s degree in
physical therapy,
and a transitional
doctorate in
physical therapy,
all from ECU. She
previously worked as
a physical therapist at Heritage Hospital
in Tarboro, where she was assistant
manager of the rehabilitation therapy
department and treated patients of all
ages in the acute, inpatient rehabilitation
and outpatient settings.
Lori J. Kincannon, clinical supervisor
in the Department of Communication
Sciences and Disorders, received a
bachelor’s degree
and a master’s
degree in speech-language
pathology
and audiology
from Florida State
University. She
also received a
graduate certificate
in assistive technology at ECU. She
has worked as a speech-language
pathologist in various clinical settings
Three faculty members in the College
of Allied Health Sciences, from left to
right, Dr. Elizabeth Layman, professor
of health services and information
management, Dr. Marianna Walker,
associate professor of communication
sciences and disorders, and Dr. Beth
Velde, professor of occupational therapy
Allied Health Sciences
welcomes new faculty
Alliance is published annually by the
East Carolina University College of
Allied Health Sciences for alumni,
faculty, staff and friends of the school.
Send your story ideas or comments
to the Editor, ECU News Services,
Division of Health Sciences, Lakeside
Annex #3, 600 Moye Boulevard,
Greenville, NC 27834, 252-744-3764,
or e-mail baityc@ecu.edu.
Dean: Stephen Thomas, EdD
Editor: Crystal Baity
Graphic Designer:
Laura Davenport
Photographer: Cliff Hollis
Writers:
Crystal Baity
Pat Frede
Karen Shugart
Contributing Photographers:
Forrest Croce
Michelle Rabell
Editorial Assistant:
Kit Roberson
Editorial Committee:
Pat Frede
Gregg Givens
Lloyd Goodwin
Walter Jenkins
Carolyn Pugh
Kathleen Schulman
Stephen Thomas
Leonard Trujillo
Beth Velde
Paul Vos
Xiaoming Zeng
East Carolina University is committed
to equality of educational opportunity
and does not discriminate against
applicants, students or employees based
on race, color, national origin, religion,
sex, sexual orientation or disability.
ECU is an equal opportunity/
a ffirmative action employer, which
accommodates the needs of individuals
with disabilities.
www.ecu.edu/ah
U.P. 11-185 Printed on recycled paper.
6,450 copies of this public document
were printed at a cost of $6,512.47, or
$1.01 per copy.
New Faculty
7
Elizabeth Bunting
J. Patrick Carter
Emilie Cellucci
Sarah Johnson
Lori Kincannon
Stephen Leierer
Heather Ramsdell
and assistant dean for special projects,
received ECU Women of Distinction
awards for 2011. Awards are based
on demonstrated contributions in
areas such as academics/education,
outreach, research, politics, athletics and
volunteering. They were among nine
receiving awards on April 13.
Founders Day winners
Six allied health sciences faculty
members were recognized April 26
in Hendrix Theater during East
Carolina University’s Founders Day
celebration, marking 104 years of
teaching, research and service.
Dr. David Cistola, professor
and associate dean for research, was
among 67 faculty and staff and 24
students inducted into the Servire
Society, which began in 2008.
Members must perform a minimum
of 100 hours public service during
a year.
The UNC Board of Governors
Distinguished Professor for Teaching
Awards recognizes and supports
excellent teaching at each of the 16
constituent universities in the UNC
system. Dr. Robert J. Campbell,
professor of health services and
information management, was one
of six selected at ECU for the award.
Five faculty members who
received U.S. patents in the last year
were recognized, including four
professors from the Department
of Communication Sciences and
Disorders: Dr. Michael Rastatter,
Dr. Joseph Kalinowski, Dr. Andrew
Stuart, and department chairman
Dr. Gregg Givens.
Come home to ECU.
We look forward to
hearing your news!
The College of Allied Health Sciences and ECU will celebrate home-coming
Oct. 29. Make plans to join your classmates and look for updates
on activities in the college at www.ecu.edu/ah. Remember to send us your
news throughout the year at www.ecu.edu/cs-dhs/ah/alumni.cfm.
East Carolina University
College of Allied Health Sciences
Health Sciences Building
Mail Stop 668
Greenville NC 27858
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for alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the school. www.ecu.edu/ah
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Grenvile, NC

Alliance EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCES
VOL. 20, NO. 1
2011
The science behind
baby talk
Treating those returning
from war
Leadership for all
2011 Alliance 1
Welcome to a new edition of Alliance. We trust that your year has been a successful
one so far.
In spite of our continuing budget reduction concerns, the College of Allied
Health Sciences has continued to grow in enrollment, course offerings, research,
development funding, service and engagement, student leadership, degree
programs, and clinical services.
One of the drivers for our growth has been our strategic plans, and the
2010-2013 Strategic Action Plan continues to serve as our blueprint for the future.
Dr. Beth Velde, professor of occupational therapy and assistant dean for special
projects, has taken the lead in working with faculty and administrators to craft a
dynamic strategic action plan that is in line with plans of the University of North
Carolina system and East Carolina University, so that there is continuity across
the state, university, college and department levels to ensure that we are working
toward the same goals and objectives. There are five ECU strategic directions, and
our college has developed goals, objectives, measures and outcomes for four of these
university directions.
The four ECU strategic directions addressed in our strategic action plan include:
education for a new century; the leadership university; health care and medical
innovation; and economic prosperity in the east. As our alumni and friends, it is
important that you know what plans your college has developed and implemented.
The articles in this issue are just a few of the many examples of how hard our
outstanding faculty, staff, administration and students have worked to creatively
meet the needs of the university, region and state and to ensure that ECU is a
national model for public service and regional transformation. In fact, many of our
projects have national and international application. What we do for the eastern
part of North Carolina often has relevance to the nation and world.
The articles in this issue address our strategic directions and serve as examples of
the progress CAHS is making to meet the strategic priorities of ECU and the UNC
system. I hope you enjoy reading about the projects and initiatives that our college
has strategically implemented and that you also take time to visit our regularly
updated website at www.ecu.edu/ah to learn more about our legacy and priorities
for teaching, research, service, engagement, and clinical practice.
In this issue, we also are trying something new. We are offering our readers an
invitation to join the college’s giving society, “Alliance for Excellence.” Please look
for the envelope in the magazine to make a gift. We have always been fortunate
and extremely grateful that our alumni and friends support the work we do to
ensure that our students are ready and possess the critical thinking skills to face the
challenges that await them.
In spite of serious ongoing budget concerns, CAHS is moving forward. Would
you expect any less?
All the best,
Stephen W. Thomas, Professor and Dean
A message
from the dean
2 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 3
The science behind baby talk :::4 Faculty member Heather Ramsdell opens infant vocal development laboratory
Pirates and Hurricanes ::::::::::::::::::8 Physical therapy students part of hockey training team
I am an ECU allied health sciences student: :11
Into the workplace ::::::::: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 12 Preceptors prepare students for life after college
Returning from war: : 16
Federal funds support ECU research, treatment for service men and women
Leadership for all : 20
Giving students the tools they need to work inter-professionally
Remote hearing test expands access to care: : 24
Faculty member Gregg Givens leads effort
Healing strength: : 26
Stacie Caswell used her occupational therapy training to help other soldiers
Back in the USA: : 31
Pat Frede returns from war
Class notes: : 32
ECU welcomes seven new faculty : 36
Contents
20
16
4
On the cover: A blooming Bradford pear tree welcomes visitors to the allied health sciences
campus in the springtime.
4 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 5
Faculty Spotlight
The Science Behind
Baby Talk
At left, Dr. Heather Ramsdell plays with
6-month-old Drew Langley of Ayden in the
infant vocal development laboratory at ECU.
The lab is filled with toys, books and other
items just like a nursery at home.
By Crystal Baity The progression from cooing and
squealing to babbling and gibberish is
more than cute baby talk.
East Carolina University assistant
professor Heather Ramsdell is studying
how baby sounds develop in the first
year of life and the link between those
sounds, first words and early language
development.
“The ultimate goal is to get a better
picture of typical vocal development so
one day we can indentify atypical vocal-ization,
which is linked to late speech
development, cognitive delays and social
development,” Ramsdell said.
There is a lot more to be learned
about how those sounds develop.
“Babies perceive much more than they
can produce,” Ramsdell said. “I get
to go to work every day and listen to
babies babble.”
Since joining ECU last summer,
Ramsdell has built the Infant Vocal
Development Laboratory in the
Department of Communication
Sciences and Disorders. Her light-filled
corner lab is a nursery with primary-colored
blocks, stuffed toys, books,
puzzles, a high chair, play saucer, pack-n-
play, rocking chair and more.
Ramsdell attaches microphones to
babies and moms or caregivers, and
then they play, eat or nap–whatever they
normally do–to record everything she
hears. Acoustic tiles line the walls to
capture crisp audio and eight cameras,
held by purple monkeys strategically
placed around the room, see baby’s faces
clearly. The infant-worn microphone is
safely encased in a custom-made vest by
Catherine Visage of Seams Unique in
Greenville so cables can’t be reached.
“The combination of the visual and
audio together allow us to get the best
judgment of the baby sounds, and the
interaction between the caregiver and
infant,” Ramsdell said.
The video and audio is fed into an
adjacent control room with two coding
stations and two computer monitors for
viewing. The software provides flexi-bility
for viewing different recorded
camera angles and audio signals, from
a close-up of a baby’s face to a wider
angle view of the interaction between
infant and parent. One microphone can
be turned on while another is off, or
Ramsdell can listen to both.
“Everything in the nursery comes
into the control room to keep the
recording environment as natural as
possible,” she said.
Then begins the time-intensive
task of analyzing the range of sounds
from squeals and growls to laughs
and cries. “We also look at the facial
affect. Was baby happy or sad? Was the
gaze directed? Was he or she looking
at mom? Did the baby produce sound
due to a request from mom?” Ramsdell
said. “There are a million different
variables we could analyze.”
While a parent might only hear
two syllables in “mama” or “dada,”
Ramsdell might transcribe it as three
different syllables. “There are huge
discrepancies between what caregivers’
judge and what we see or hear when
6 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 7
listening to the infant vocalizations
over and over again in the research
lab,” she said.
Typical developmental benchmarks
show children start producing sounds
that are well-formed and say their
first words by 12 months old. By 18
months, they have a vocabulary of
about 50 words.
Ramsdell was drawn to Greenville
because of the reputation of ECU
where she teaches phonetics and
phonology, and the almost 4,000
babies born annually in Pitt County.
She hopes to reach some of those
babies to expand her research.
“As speech language pathologists,
we need to know the intricacies of
how speech develops and is produced,”
Ramsdell said. “If there is any problem
in communication in a person’s life,
their quality of life is vastly affected.”
Her lab, unique in North Carolina,
is a testament to advances in infant
vocal development research since
the 1970s. She previously worked as
coordinator of the vocal and speech
development project at the University
of Memphis, where she earned her
doctoral degree. She also was a speech-language
pathologist in the Memphis
City School District.
She received a bachelor’s degree
in speech-language pathology and
audiology from Iona College and a
master’s degree in communication
disorders from Boston University. At
Memphis, her research mentor was Dr.
Kimbrough Oller, a groundbreaking
expert in the field.
Ramsdell’s arrival ends a multi-year
search for someone with expertise
in infant speech production and
development, said Dr. Gregg Givens,
professor and chairman of the
communication sciences and disorders.
“It is hoped that Dr. Ramsdell’s
research will lead to better and earlier
treatment of speech disorders in very
young children as well as perhaps the
discovery of early signs or indicators
that a communication problem may be
developing to allow us to implement
intervention at an earlier age than what
is now occurring,” Givens said.
A recent viral YouTube video of twin
brothers babbling in a kitchen offers a
glimpse at the research Ramsdell will be
doing at ECU. The video, at youtube.
ecu, shows the brothers communicating
with unrecognizable words but obvious
interaction: taking turns talking,
looking at and imitating each other.
Drew Langley of Ayden reaches for a toy
from Dr. Heather Ramsdell in her ECU
laboratory. Ramsdell hopes to recruit infants
about the same age as Langley to study typical
vocal development in the first year of life.
While not a participant, Langley demonstrated
the lab’s features.
“It’s obvious that, despite the fact that
these baby boys are not communicating
with words, they fully understand how
a communication exchange works,”
Ramsdell said.
Mark Allen, the college’s electronics
specialist, and 11 undergraduate
students have helped Ramsdell set
up the lab and prepare for its first
participants. Dr. Andrew Stuart will
evaluate hearing with the infants who
are part of the research.
8 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 9
In photo at left, physical therapy doctoral
students Josh Hefner, left, and Justin Pretzel,
stand on center ice before game time. Top right,
Hefner prepares ice bags for athletes.
By Crystal Baity When the Carolina Hurricanes suit up
at home on game day, two East Carolina
University physical therapy doctoral
students are part of the training team.
Students Josh Hefner and Justin
Pretzel along with associate professor
Dr. Blaise Williams and clinical assistant
professor Kevin Youngs were asked to
help conduct pre-season screenings last
summer for a research study on hockey
player injuries. The invitation came
after Jaime Holt, an ECU alumnus and
physical therapist with the official team
orthopedist of the Hurricanes, spoke to
Dr. Walt Jenkins’ ECU sports physical
therapy class. Williams also participated
in a conference hosted by Peter Friesen,
head athletic trainer and strength and
conditioning coach for the Hurricanes.
The research project led to the
students serving as home game day assis-tants
for the 2010-2011 season, where
they primarily work with Friesen and
assistant athletic trainer Doug Bennett.
Hefner and Pretzel arrive at the RBC
Center three hours before game time,
where they ready equipment, organize
bench and emergency supplies, meet
with the opposing team’s athletic trainer,
and assist with the treatment and
training needs of athletes throughout
the game, Friesen said.
Those needs may range from admin-istering
ice bags and hot packs to
cleaning up blood or taking someone
for X-rays. Hockey is fast and physical.
Some hits compare to a minor car crash,
Friesen said. Keeping players healthy
is critical since they have three to four
games per week and travel 75,000 miles
a year, crossing 13 time zones.
“It brings a whole new dimension to
sports medicine. Eating patterns, sleep
patterns, playing surfaces, old skates/
new skates,” Friesen said. The students
are also exposed to other cultures
because hockey is a multi-national sport.
While not at the rink, the students
are in clinical rotations in the Triangle
each weekday, which makes for some
very long hours. They usually stay
about 90 minutes after the final buzzer,
easily clocking a 6-7 hour day on top
of the regular work day. Initially, the
Hurricanes planned on one assistant,
but because of Hefner and Pretzels’
clinical responsibilities they split the
job by alternating game days, which has
worked perfectly.
It is the first time either has worked
with professional athletes. Both are
athletic and have an interest in sports
and sports medicine, having played
high school sports. Pretzel also played
two years of college football. He is a
longtime hockey fan, lured by the fast
pace of the game.
“Pete is pretty well known,” said
Pretzel, 26. “It’s been fun to pick his
brain and watch some of the things
he does with players. I definitely have PIRATES
Physical therapy students part of the hockey training team Pirates and Hurricanes
10 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 11
I am an
ECU allied health
sciences student
Applied for undergraduate admission: 246
Admitted to undergraduate programs: 158
Average GPA of those admitted into undergraduate programs: 3.23
Applied for graduate admission: 1305
Admitted for graduate programs: 161
Average GPA of those admitted to the graduate programs: 3.48
Total number of students enrolled in allied health sciences degee
and certificate programs in fall 2010: 803
Female students: 677
Male students: 126
White students: 621
Non-white students: 182
Full-time students: 667
Part-time students: 136
In-state students: 703
Out-of-state students: 100
Other important statistics:
The following are departmental enrollments for the 2010-2011 calendar year.
Clinical Laboratory Science: 27; Communication Sciences and Disorders: 196;
Health Services and Information Management: 191; Occupational Therapy: 62;
Physical Therapy: 84; Physician Assistant Studies: 94; Rehabilitation Studies: 149;
Graduate Certificate programs: 79
enjoyed working with the athletes. It
challenges me.”
The experience has enhanced
classroom and lab training Hefner and
Pretzel receive at ECU. Exposure to
the newest equipment, techniques and
strategies is something Hefner and
Pretzel can add to their repertoire as
physical therapists.
“Honestly, the hockey players are
like machines,” said Hefner, 25. “They
work really hard. Hockey is one of the
most physically demanding sports. They
are playing every other night. These
guys train after the game. They go lift
weights; they get on bikes. They want to
be that much better than other players.”
Hefner is in clinical training for 10
weeks at Wake Med in the rehabilitation
unit, where he is helping patients who
have had strokes, joint replacements or
spinal cord injuries prepare to return
home or go to assisted living. Hefner
and his wife, Nikki, who is a cardiac
surgery nurse at Pitt County Memorial
Hospital, have a 1-year-old son, Noah.
Pretzel is working with patients in
an outpatient physical therapy clinic in
Cary under the guidance of a practicing
physical therapist. “In a clinical setting,
you see patients after they’re hurt. You’re
trying to get them back to where they
were before the injury,” he said.
Hefner and Pretzel graduate in May
and look forward to a fulfilling career
with an eye toward sports physical
therapy one day. The Hurricanes
experience has sealed their interest.
“It’s a tremendous learning
experience for any student,” Friesen said.
“It is a tremendous commitment on
their part. You’ve got to find someone
who is willing. If they’re not interested
in sports medicine, it’s probably not a
good assignment.”
Friesen said he has learned from
having the students in the locker room
as well. “I’m very thankful we’ve hooked
up with ECU physical therapy,” Friesen
said. “It’s an enriched environment and
provides a very great service to us.”
Injury check
By Crystal Baity Hockey’s fast pace and physical play
can sideline some athletes.
But researchers at East Carolina
University are studying risk factors and
prevention of groin injuries to keep
Carolina Hurricanes hockey players on
the ice.
Before the season began, ECU
associate professor Dr. Blaise Williams
assembled a team including clinical
assistant professor Kevin Youngs,
students Jill Davis, Josh Hefner,
Christina Pate, Justin Pretzel, Keith
Sales, David Stallings and Kelsey
Waggoner who helped with pre-season
physical testing of the athletes’
strength, flexibility and cardiovascular
endurance. They also used a handheld
dynamometer to measure force and
strength in the players’ outer and
inner thighs.
“A big problem with hockey players
is groin injuries,” Williams said.
“Injuries to the hip adductors and
hamstrings can be debilitating.”
The muscles are important because
of the side-to-side movement of
skating. Researchers want to know
if the likelihood of injury increases
in athletes with an imbalance in hip
muscle strength. “We don’t want them
to get hurt making a strong push
against a skate,” Williams said.
Athletes are being tracked for injury
during the season. Data from the
preseason will be added and analyzed,
then given to Carolina Hurricanes
head trainer Peter Friesen for
recommendation. “Then we’ll follow
them in the off season to talk about
intervention,” Williams said.
“You want to start and finish with as
many athletes as you can,” Youngs said.
Physical therapists could decide
to train the hockey players at risk for
groin injury differently or give them
additional preventative exercises based
on the findings.
“We define injury in a professional
athlete differently than (we would
in) you or I,” Williams said. “If it
significantly limits the time they can
play, if the muscle is strained to the
point where they can’t participate
normally (that’s injury).”
The partnership between ECU
physical therapy and the Carolina
Hurricanes is a first. “To my
knowledge, it‘s the first time ECU
has partnered with a professional
team,” Williams said. “It’s not unique
in that colleges (across the country)
are involved with research in keeping
players healthy.”
ECU physical therapy department
chairman Dr. Walt Jenkins began
his sport injury research years ago in
trying to reduce knee injuries with the
women’s basketball team. “It’s sort of a
model we work off of,” Williams said.
Most athletic injuries, if not a
result of a traumatic event, are due
to overuse. Others are more sport-specific.
“We’ve had to learn a lot
about hockey injury and hockey
movement,” Williams said.
The partnership with the
Hurricanes has been a good fit and
one ECU physical therapy wants to
continue by providing physical therapy
students as game day assistants to
the Hurricanes. ECU benefits by
generating clinically-oriented research
and data, and providing research
opportunities for faculty and students,
Williams said. “From the educational
perspective, it’s phenomenal for our
students to be working as physical
therapists in a professional sports
environment,” he said.
12 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 13
Into the workplace
Preceptors prepare students
for life after college
By Crystal Baity Graduate student T.J. Potts is training
on-the-job as a physician assistant
this year.
One of his eight rotations is at Bertie
Memorial Hospital in Windsor under
the experienced eye of emergency room
physician assistant Louis Velazquez.
Before they graduate, students in all
departments in the College of Allied
Health Sciences are placed in hospitals,
doctor’s offices, or other field sites,
where they work with a preceptor, or
clinical teacher, who plays a vital role in
their education.
Velazquez has been a preceptor since
the physician assistant studies program
began at East Carolina University in
1996. It is the only state-supported
program in the UNC system, and
graduates have consistently achieved
a 100 percent pass rate on their state
licensing exams.
Students consistently rank the
rotation with Velazquez as one of
their best, said Julie Daniel-Yount,
clinical education coordinator for
the ECU Department of Physician
Assistant Studies.
In addition to emergency medicine,
students must work six-week rotations
each in family medicine, pediatrics,
women’s health, general surgery,
internal medicine, behavioral medicine
and geriatrics. Sites are in Raleigh,
Greenville and Wilmington, and in
rural locations outside those cities.
Settings include in and outpatient
facilities where students get operating
room experience and work with
patients across the lifespan.
“They may learn skills in the
classroom and lab, but it is different
dealing with patients every day in the
hospital,” Velazquez said. “They develop
a skill set. They develop a process for
how to take care of patients. I try to
bring to students that your profession
doesn’t end when you walk out the door.
What you do reflects on who you are.
It’s that way in any profession.”
14 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 15
Photo at left, in the Bertie Memorial Hospital
emergency department, ECU physician
assistant student T.J. Potts props by a door
with Julie Daniel-Yount, ECU clinical
education coordinator, as physician assistant
Louis Velazquez and lab technologist Stephanie
Swain evaluate Bryan Foster, who was having
stomach pain. Photo at right, Gwen Taylor,
left, a senior medical technologist, works with
ECU clinical laboratory science student Joshua
Pruiett in the hematoloy lab at PCMH, one
of the largest training sites for ECU students.
In a small town, running into a
patient at a store or restaurant is not
unusual. “When you see someone and
they say ‘you treated me well’ or ‘I feel
much better since I saw you,’ that’s
the beauty of working in a rural area,”
Velazquez said.
He loves working with students,
and is a guest lecturer at ECU. Some
preceptors say having students in the
workplace adds a special dimension to
patient care. Others teach because they
want to give back to their profession,
Daniel-Yount said.
“We have offices call and offer to
precept when they are seeking a PA
to hire in the future,” she said. “Each
rotation is sort of like a six-week job
interview for the student and clinic.”
Velazquez, another physician assistant
and nurse practitioner are the sole
providers in the hospital after 5 p.m. He
works a 24-hour shift as do students.
“They’re here like I’m here,” said
Velazquez, who as a licensed physician
assistant practices under a supervising
physician, Dr. Phil Harris, emergency
department director at Bertie.
Ninety percent of the patients coming
to the emergency department are treated
and sent back home, but about 10
percent require admission to the six-bed
hospital or transfer to another hospital.
Frequent complaints range from high
blood pressure and aching backs to
urinary tract infections or the flu, which
surprises some students.
“They expect a high-energy thing
that they see on TV. Maybe it’s like that
at Pitt (County Memorial Hospital in
Greenville), but it’s not like that here,”
Velazquez said. “Everybody depends on
everybody to pull their part, to start an
IV, clean a bed, change sheets.”
Potts’ first day – Valentine’s Day –
was the busiest at the hospital in many
years. He gave CPR to someone with
heart arrhythmia and saw 44 patients.
“For here, that’s a lot,” he said.
The work in Windsor is similar to
what Potts would like to do when he
graduates. “I want to work in rural health
care,” Potts said. “There is a need for
rural practice. And I’m from a rural area.”
Potts earned a construction
management degree from ECU, and
worked in behavioral health with special
needs patients before deciding to return
to school. He took more than a year of
pre-requisite courses before he applied.
“I feel very fortunate to be in the
program,” said Potts, 30, who grew up
in Advance.
The college has more than 1,400
contracts with agencies that provide
preceptors across North Carolina
and out-of-state, said Frankie Lynn
McClure, contracts clerk for allied
health sciences.
One of the largest training sites
is Pitt County Memorial Hospital
in Greenville.
Joshua Pruiett, an ECU clinical
laboratory science student from
Chattanooga, Tenn., is working part of
his final semester with Gwen Taylor,
a senior medical technologist in the
hematology lab at PCMH.
Taylor has been a preceptor for eight
years. She normally has two or three
students per 28-day rotation in the lab,
which conducts tests on blood and
other body fluids and analyzes results
in helping doctors diagnose or rule
out disease such as sickle cell anemia
and leukemia.
“I’m behind the scenes but still play
a part in the patient’s healing process,”
Taylor said.
She organizes the student schedule,
evaluates their work, meets with their
academic advisor and “develops a plan
to make sure they get what they need
to get ready to go into the workplace,”
Taylor said. “In a classroom, they get
theory. Here, we apply the need to the
theory part.”
The lab is one of four that students
rotate through at PCMH. The others
are the blood bank, chemistry and
microbiology.
“In the labs, we’re hands on,” Taylor
said. “You take what you have learned
and apply it.”
Pruiett said working in the hospital
lab is more enjoyable than sitting in a
classroom. “It enhances it, and ties it all
together and allows you to put theory
to work. Everything is practical.”
With an undergraduate degree in
biology, Pruiett said getting a degree in
clinical laboratory science is a desirable
step toward his career goal. “There is a
lot of variety in the field,” he said. “You
don’t get pigeonholed in one area.”
PCMH set a new record for total
lab test activity in February, according
to George Williams, administrator of
clinical lab/pathology at PCMH. The
level 1 trauma center has 861 beds and
is one of the largest in the state.
“The amount of throughput through
this hospital, it services a large area. You
certainly get a taste of that,” Pruiett
said. The lab serves the hospital and
two satellite locations. Turnaround
times for tests range from 20 minutes
to eight hours.
Not every student will work in a
large hospital. But the skills students
learn working with preceptors, like
troubleshooting and time management,
transfer to smaller facilities as well.
Students are treated like employees.
“As a preceptor, I need to give them
behavior to model,” said Taylor, who
has worked at PCMH for 21 years. She
graduated from ECU with a bachelor’s
degree in medical technology in 1990.
At the end of their rotations,
students should be able to step into
an entry-level lab position and be
prepared to take and pass the national
certification exam, Pruiett said.
While coordinators for some
programs said they have not had
problems placing students in
internships, others scramble to find
training sites for students.
More physical therapy students are
requesting and selecting placements
in state since they are in debt for
undergraduate degrees and don’t have
the funds to travel to hospitals and
clinics out of state, said Dr. Patricia
Hodson, clinical associate professor
and director of clinical education for
physical therapy. More credentialed
clinical instructors in physical therapy
are needed as well. She places 90
students in 120 sites each year.
“With an increase in the number of
DPT programs in North Carolina and
an increase in the number of students
seeking clinical affiliations in North
Carolina, it has become increasingly
difficult to assign students,” Hodson
said. “Another issue is lack of available
low cost or free housing.”
When Velazquez worked in Ahoskie
before moving to Bertie, he collaborated
with the Eastern Area Health Education
Center to acquire a home where
students can live while they intern in
northeastern North Carolina to address
the housing issue. It is still a popular
choice today.
Dr. Jane Painter, professor
and occupational therapy clinical
coordinator, said it has been challenging
finding pediatric settings for students.
Some students who are from out-of-state
choose to go back home to do
their field work, Painter said.
Rehabilitation studies students
seeking a bachelor’s degree must
complete 450 internship hours, while
master’s degree students are required
to complete 600 internship hours, said
Dr. Martha Chapin, associate professor
and director of the undergraduate
rehabilitation services program. They
have 361 sites in North Carolina,
some that date back to 1968. Their
largest internship sites are at PCMH,
PORT Human Services, Walter B. Jones
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment
Center, the North Carolina Division of
Vocational Rehabilitation Services, and
Changing Seasons Treatment Services,
Chapin said.
16 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 17
Federal funds support ECU research,
treatment for active military and veterans
Returning
from war
By Crystal Baity Benjamin McHugh is adjusting to his
new normal while searching for a cure
for his dizziness.
The 23-year-old corporal suffered
a blast injury last June while on patrol
in Afghanistan after his four-man team
hit an improvised explosive device or
IED. A mild traumatic brain injury has
left him with short-term memory loss,
dizziness, constant headaches,
and balance problems.
“I didn’t notice most of it at first,” he
said. After returning to Camp Lejeune
from his only combat deployment,
friends noticed his lack of agility, his
forgetfulness, his inability to walk
straight ahead in a mall or restaurant.
“They said, ‘what’s wrong with you?’“
Now McHugh is in physical
therapy three times a week, and sees a
neurologist, speech therapist and other
rehabilitation specialists. His doctors at
Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune referred
him to East Carolina University’s speech
and hearing clinic, where he is being
evaluated by Dr. Sherri Jones, an expert in
inner ear disorders and associate professor
of communication sciences and disorders.
Jones and doctoral student Kristal
Mills are conducting a clinical research
project to pinpoint the damaged part of
the complex vestibular and balance system
to provide the best treatment possible.
“My hope is just to find out what’s
wrong,” McHugh said. “If you can’t
figure out the problem, you can’t fix it.”
Through Operation Re-entry North
Carolina, ECU aims to study and treat
the problems of combat Marines such
as McHugh and thousands of other
military service personnel. The $2.4
million federally-earmarked project
involves different departments on campus
and a five-year agreement between the
U.S. Army and ECU.
Dr. David Cistola, project director,
said it addresses the three “R’s:”
reintegration, re-entry and resilience of
military personnel.
In the photo at left, ECU doctoral student
Kristal Mills checks Benjamin McHugh’s
ears before starting a vestibular and balance
assessment. At right, McHugh sits in a rotary
chair in ECU’s speech and hearing clinic as
Mills prepares for his test. Below, an infrared
camera records McHugh’s eye movements in
response to computer-generated stimulation of
his vestibular system.
Some of the clinical treatment and
research into traumatic brain injury
and post traumatic stress disorder was
already being developed in various
departments when Cistola joined ECU
in 2008 as associate dean of research in
the College of Allied Health Sciences.
One of his duties was to build
collaborative projects. He found a focus
with eastern North Carolina’s heavy
concentration of military bases and
population of active duty and retired
soldiers. His task was to bring it all
together and keep the momentum going.
Already in place was the Training for
Optimal Performance Program started
by Dr. Carmen Russoniello in the
psychophysiology lab and biofeedback
clinic in the Department of Recreation
and Leisure Studies.
A computer program called “Virtual
Iraq” can recreate a soldier’s wartime
experiences, from patrolling on a road
to riding in a Humvee. Russoniello’s
biofeedback training helps service
members recognize and control their
reactions in the simulated scenario, which
they can use when they feel stressed or
anxious in everyday life.
In the College of Human Ecology,
child development and family relations
experts have been holding workshops
for families of reservists coping with
deployment for the past four years.
ECU interior design and merchandising
students helped in the design of the
wounded warrior barracks project at
Camp Lejeune.
Studying the signature
injury
Traumatic brain injury from blasts is
the signature injury of today’s war,
Cistola said, and causes concussion-like
symptoms that often overlap with
post traumatic stress disorder. Service
members, many with lengthy and
multiple deployments, are surviving
physical injuries that they might not
have in previous wars due to advances in
protective gear and training.
In Jones’ lab, McHugh is put through a
two-to-three hour comprehensive battery
to evaluate his inner ear.
Part of the assessment involves
strapping on an infrared video camera
to record McHugh’s eye movements
in response to computer-generated
stimulation of his vestibular system
while he sits in a rotary chair. Other
tests require him to move his head or
body in different positions, or wear
electrodes on the skin overlying his neck
muscles or at his ears. Some of the tests,
done in silent, darkened control rooms,
are so monotonous that he falls asleep.
Jones’ team has evaluated more
than 100 Marines with blast-induced
dizziness or other balance problems
referred from Naval Hospital Camp
Lejeune, and every week brings new
referrals. ECU now has one of the
largest databases on vestibular function
following blast injury in the country,
Jones said.
Already there are some unexpected
preliminary findings.
“When a person is exposed to a
blast, the theory was the pressure wave
damages the air and fluid-filled organs,
which the inner ear fits in that category,”
Jones said.
But so far data shows that only a
small percentage of individuals exposed
to blast actually have inner ear damage.
“If it’s not the inner ear, then what is
it?” Jones said.
Defense funding will allow Jones
to start a new study in collaboration
with military physicians and Dr. Blaise
Williams and Dr. Leslie Allison in
ECU’s physical therapy department
to see how the brain integrates all its
sensory information for balance.
“Our hypothesis is the brain is
weighting those sensory inputs differently
18 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 19
after blast exposure,” Jones said. “The
brain isn’t looking at the information
properly. If it focuses on vision when it
should be using vestibular, a person can
become off balance.”
Many wounded service members
go through a standard vestibular
rehabilitation program but don’t see
progress beyond a certain level, Jones
said. For a Marine, that might be 50
percent to 75 percent of normal. “These
individuals are very physically fit and
active. They’re not used to not feeling
well or being sedentary,” Jones said.
McHugh is among them although,
to the average eye, he looks in tip-top
condition. “I can’t run. I get way too
dizzy and light headed,” he said. “I used
to love to run. I’ve gotten way out
of shape.”
There is a lot more to learn about
what happens when someone is
exposed to blast. “It’s a combination of
expertise that’s necessary to solve these
problems,” she said.
A new tool coming to Greenville
that will be available to researchers
throughout the UNC system will be a
blast simulator laboratory. One of six
in the world, researchers will be able
to study the impact of blast on blood,
tissue and other body parts.
Findings eventually may lead to a
quick and reliable test for mild traumatic
brain injury closer to the battlefield,
Cistola said. The point of diagnosis
matters in determining treatment,
documentation and discharge. “And it
determines what happens when they
walk into a VA hospital three years from
now,” Cistola said.
Funding and pending
projects
ECU’s Vice Chancellor for Research
and Graduate Studies Dr. Deirdre
Mageean coined the term “Operation
Re-entry” and she and Cistola gained the
support of U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield
and U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, who
championed it in Congress. While $2.4
million in Department of Defense funds
was allocated in the 2010 budget, none
has been released to ECU. Another $2.2
million is expected, but not guaranteed,
this year. Operation Re-entry will begin
with about 10 projects, but has the
potential to expand to 30 projects a year
throughout the UNC system. A project
manager will be hired.
“There is so much support for caring
for returning veterans,” Cistola said. “We
won’t stop trying if it happens, and we’ll
do it anyway if it doesn’t.”
Some “shovel-ready” projects can’t
begin until federal funding arrives.
In occupational therapy, department
chair Dr. Leonard Trujillo, a veteran
himself, will use the Interactive
Metronome, a computerized assessment
and treatment tool that prompts users to
match repetitive rhythmic patterns while
tapping their feet or clapping their hands.
The therapy will help active duty service
members with mild traumatic brain injury
improve hand and eye coordination,
fine and gross motor skills, and mental
organization. Trujillo’s past work with
stroke patients and the Interactive
Metronome have shown improvement.
Occupational therapy graduate
students also will use TRX training,
a portable exercise system adopted by
the military, to help service members
improve strength and coordination. The
sessions can be done anywhere.
“When you’re active and feel you’re
engaged, the outlook on life is much
more positive,” Trujillo said. “This will
help them return to a sense of urgency
and place.”
Dr. Paul Toriello and two doctoral
students in the Department of
Rehabilitation Studies will pilot a
computerized screening test and brief
intervention for substance abuse, mental
illness and mild traumatic brain injury
with Pitt County veterans.
Research has shown that 46 percent
of veterans have a substance use disorder,
11 percent have mental illness and
60 percent report symptoms of mild
traumatic brain injury.
“Of particular concern is how these
three conditions interact to impair
veterans’ lives,” Toriello said.
Studies show that more than 34
percent of veterans with a primary
substance use disorder have a
co-occurring mental illness. Half with
mild traumatic brain disorder also have
substance use issues. In fact, alcohol
use by someone with brain injury can
exacerbate symptoms of aggression and
memory loss, Toriello said.
According to Pitt County Veterans
Service, more than 10,500 veterans live
in Pitt County. Extrapolating from the
data from earlier studies suggests “a
majority of Pitt County veterans may
be attempting to cope with these three
conditions, any one of which can cause
serious problems and, when experienced
in combination, can be significantly
debilitating,” Toriello said.
Looking forward
McHugh will be leaving the 3rd
Battalion, 6th Marine Division after
five years of service in June. He plans
to go to college and hopefully into
the reserves. For now, he carries a day
planner filled with doctor appointments
and other important dates to remember
since his short-term memory is
affected. A car enthusiast and mechanic,
McHugh, at the good-natured ribbing
of friends, will double and triple check
his work when asked if he remembered
a repair step.
For researchers, Operation Re-entry
is a way to give back to service men and
women who have sacrificed for freedom.
It puts in place greater support services
and programs for returning injured
soldiers today and decades to come. “It
provides an extra level of motivation,”
Cistola said.
Dr. David Cistola, project director for
Operation Re-entry North Carolina, works in
his lab. He is developing diagnostic markers for
blast exposure.
20 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 21
Leadership for all
Giving students the tools they need
to work inter-professionally
By Crystal Baity Trey Elam’s leadership experience
started early, in church, where he
still volunteers as a Baptist Men’s
Association World Changer.
The 24-year-old occupational therapy
graduate student is student liaison
to the dean’s office and he chairs the
Student Leaders Council in the College
of Allied Health Sciences. He heads
a group of 14 student representatives
from each of the degree-granting
departments in the college.
His undergraduate degree is in
recreational therapy. One of his favorite
leadership roles was as a Babe Ruth
baseball coach for 13-15 year olds in
Fairmont, his hometown.
As a longtime volunteer for World
Changers, he supervised crews of
teenagers who repaired roofs and
windows or painted houses for the
needy. Three years of overseeing young
workers with no construction experience
in places such as Chattanooga, Norfolk
and across North Carolina reinforced
the importance of teamwork.
“If you’re a leader in anything, you’ve
got to learn how to distribute tasks,”
Elam said. “I learned to be a delegator.”
Honing those leadership skills hasn’t
been happenstance.
A plan to promote student leadership
in the College of Allied Health Sciences
has come straight from the top, from
Dean Stephen Thomas to council
advisor Dr. Beth Velde to Elam’s research
mentor Dr. Leonard Trujillo.
Training and preparing leaders is one
of five strategic directions adopted by
ECU. Developing student leaders is an
integral part of student education, Dr.
Thomas said.
“Allied health professionals must be
change agents as health care changes to
adapt with societal needs,” Velde said.
“Preparing our students to be leaders is
the first step in the process.”
Student leadership is a key
component in the college’s strategic
plan. Students get broad leadership
opportunities. Courses stress and
reinforce leadership skills. The
college also recognizes students who
demonstrate ability as leaders.
The college received a $20,000
BB&T grant in December to expand
its preparation of student leaders and
to work closely with the College of
Nursing, its neighbor in the Health
Sciences Building. In the working world,
physical therapists, speech language
pathologists or rehabilitation counselors
work side by side with nurses and
doctors as part of a health care team.
“With the many changes occurring in
health care delivery, we will need a cadre
of future leaders to help find new ways
to make health care economically viable
and effective. It takes strong leadership
to bring about successful improvements
in health care,” Thomas said. “A critical
role of leadership will be the creation of
an inter-professional health care culture
where the many health disciplines can
work together to advance better health
for everyone.”
At left, Trey Elam, wants to join the Navy
as an occupational therapist after graduation.
At right, Elam volunteers on a service project
at bingo night at Red Oak Assisted Living
Center in Greenville.
22 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 23
As part of the grant, officials
will work to strengthen mentoring
and faculty-student relationships. A
leadership conference on reinforcing
inter-professional skills and new courses
will be started for students in allied
health sciences, dental medicine, nursing
and medicine. Through the creation
of a health sciences leaders council
modeled after allied health’s student
leaders council, students in the health
sciences division will have the chance to
meet regularly to develop team working
skills and promote understanding of
professional differences and similarities.
“Hopefully, if students learn to
collaborate across disciplines while in
school, they will be better prepared to
enter the health care system able to work
effectively together,” said Dr. Elaine
Scott, director of the East Carolina
Center for Nursing Leadership.
Occupational therapy graduate
student Sarah Peterson already
participates in team work through
clinical field work and volunteering
at ECU’s Adapted Sports Day. There,
recreational therapists, physical therapists
and occupational therapists and others
come together to support athletes
with disabilities. “They are different
therapies, but together they make the
big picture,” Peterson said, adding that
sometimes patients don’t know the
difference between therapists. “We even
have pre-conceived notions ourselves.”
Robyn Sauls of Farmville, a graduate
student in speech language pathology, said
providing mentoring and collaboration
opportunities for students while in school
is important. “The current students in
undergraduate and graduate school are
the future of the workforce,” she said.
“It is essential that leaders help facilitate
the growth of students academically and
emotionally. We can always learn from
others’ experiences.”
Sauls has served as representative for
the Department of Communication
Sciences and Disorders on the student
leaders council. She said a council-sponsored
leadership workshop last fall
gave students an excellent opportunity
to discuss concerns, give suggestions and
create relationships with other advisors
and students in the college.
“The Student Occupational Therapy
Association advisor and I had a great
conversation and she helped me create
a handbook for my own organization,”
Sauls said.
Leadership and service
go hand in hand
In the College of Allied Health
Sciences, there are nine campus
organizations related to majors that
students can join to gain leadership
experience and community service.
Peterson coordinates the service
committee for the Student Occupational
Therapy Association, a job that has
pushed her out of her comfort zone.
She contacts various organizations for
possible service projects and schedules
and coordinates what the nine-person
committee decides.
“I tend to be shy, reserved,” said
Peterson, a Greenville native. “This is
different for me. I’ve always been more
of a follower. But this is one of those
things that I really wanted to do. I have
become more involved.”
Last year, SOTA teamed up with
Give to the Troops to prepare care
packages and send cards to 40 to 50
service members overseas. Students
donated their time and willpower
to Shepherd’s Helpers to build
wheelchair ramps for needy people in
the community. At Hope Lodge, the
committee led a Valentine’s craft project
for family members. They cooked
a meal at the Ronald McDonald
House, made shoeboxes for Operation
Christmas Child, and helped at-risk
girls with homework in Operation
Sunshine’s afterschool program.
Her favorite experience, one she did
on her own and not part of a student
group, has been working with the
exceptional children’s baseball league at
Elm Street Park, where she was paired
with a child for about six weeks last
summer. Children and adults of all
abilities get to participate.
“I want to make a difference,”
Peterson said. “I want to help others,
and by helping them, it helps me. It has
helped me grow so much.”
Sauls, who has an undergraduate
degree in exercise and sports science, is
president of the National Student Speech
Language and Hearing Association at
ECU, which has 118 members.
“It has been a completely different
experience because of the demands of
graduate school,” Sauls said. “Through
my current position, I feel I have learned
more about working in a professional
environment with a variety of people
at different levels. I feel like I have
developed more accountability as a leader
through NSSLHA and have increased
my ability to delegate tasks efficiently.”
Last semester, NSSLHA participated
in a fall festival for children in ECU’s
Speech Language and Hearing Clinic
and worked with the Pitt County
Department of Social Services to
adopt three children to provide clothes
and toys at Christmas. This semester,
students held a school supply drive for
the Kennedy Home of Kinston, and
sponsored a Relay for Life team in
memory of communication sciences and
disorders faculty member Meta Downes,
who died last spring from breast cancer.
Decision making and
personal growth
After attending a leadership conference in
2009, Peterson realized she never thought
of herself as a leader. “But everyone is
a leader in their own way, whether they
realize it or not,” she said. “I’ve had to
become more confident in myself.”
She also recognizes there are different
styles of leadership.
“I may be more quiet and reserved.
Some people will relate to me and my
way. We all have our different styles, and
they’re all effective,” Peterson said. “It’s
really important to listen to what other
people want.”
Being liaison for student leaders
council, focusing on class work and
field work and graduate research, and
other volunteer responsibilities seems
overwhelming at times.
“Finding a way to get all these things
accomplished is a good professional
experience,” Elam said. “That’s one way
I’m really growing.”
At left, Sarah Peterson coordinates the service
committee of the Student Occupational Therapy
Association. At right, occupational therapy
graduate students lead older drivers through
a 12-point checklist and recommend car
adjustments or adaptations during a CarFit
community service project in Greenville.
24 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 25
By Karen Shugart An East Carolina University professor is
among the creators of the first real-time,
remote diagnostic hearing assessment
that allows interaction between clinician
and patient – a low-cost development
that could bring much-needed treatment
to rural and low-income patients around
the world.
“There are people throughout the
world who have no access to professional
hearing health care,” said Dr. Gregg
Givens, chairman of the Department of
Communication Sciences and Disorders
and a practicing clinical audiologist.
“This gives clinicians the ability to
remotely diagnose and treat hearing loss.”
ECU and Otovation, a leading
provider of audiometer products for
hearing professionals and care providers
worldwide, are working together to make
the system available, with a projected
release date this year.
“Dr. Givens and his colleagues were
visionary in seeing this many years ago
as a potential improvement in assisting
and delivering care for patients,” said
Dave Davis, founder and president of
Otovation. “We at Otovation believe
very strongly in the quality of what they
have developed, and we look forward
to continuing to work with ECU in
developing and bringing this important
service to market.”
First interactive,
remote hearing test will
expand access to care
Hearing loss often goes untreated.
The National Institutes on Deafness
and Other Communication Disorders,
a federal agency, estimates that only one
in five people who could benefit from a
hearing aid actually wear one.
For rural and low-income populations,
access to hearing health care can be
scarce. In eastern North Carolina,
for instance, some counties have no
audiologist. “Hearing health care in
some of these communities just doesn’t
exist,” Givens said.
Innovations in telemedicine offer
ways to increase access to services while
improving quality of care and reducing
costs. With this new hearing system,
clinicians can remotely test patients
around the world through local or
area-wide networks as well as the Web.
Assessments can even be performed
using smart phones and tablet PCs.
The hearing test system will be
suitable for use in varied settings,
including nursing homes, schools,
hospitals, correctional facilities and
military settings.
Givens and his colleagues began
working on the project in the early
1990s as a way to get hearing care to
people in rural and under-served areas.
In the early years of development, they
were stymied by hurdles in software
and hardware development. The first
Internet-based test on campus was
conducted in the late 1990s, Givens
said. The first of two patents was issued
in 2005, and a third patent was issued
in December.
“It’s exciting to see something you
envisioned finally coming to reality,”
Givens said.
To learn more, contact Givens at
givensg@ecu.edu. or 252-744-6080.
For more information on Otovation,
contact Davis at dave@otovation.com
or 610-768-9300.
At left, Dr. Gregg Givens’ vision for a remote
hearing test has led to the development of a
much-needed tool for telemedicine. At right,
Givens demonstrates software that will increase
access to hearing tests in rural areas.
26 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 27
Alumni Profile
Healing
strength
Alumna Stacie Caswell
used her occupational
therapy training to help
other soldiers
At left, Stacie Caswell is an occupational
therapist at Mission Hospitals in Asheville.
On a tour of duty in Iraq, Caswell repairs
a flexor tendon for an injured Iraqi man.
By Karen Shugart At Mission Hospital in Asheville,
retired U.S. Army Maj. Stacie Caswell
gently coaxes inpatient rehabilitation
patients into doing what once were
simple tasks: walking to the bathroom,
brushing teeth, sitting up.
Don’t be fooled by the soft-spoken
manner, however. Caswell is no softie.
This ECU alumna is an occupational
therapist who knows how to get results
– and get answers. An Army-trained
linguist and interrogator, she has a
resume that’s full of stories – some
touching, some tragic – that bespeak of
a career that has its roots in Caswell’s
desire to help others, whether she’s in
Iraq or western North Carolina.
“For me, if I can make a difference
in somebody’s life, day-by-day, that’s
satisfaction,” Caswell said.
That desire has served her well.
In the 1990s, she trained as an
interrogator. In 2001, she debriefed
survivors of the terrorist attacks on the
Pentagon. She’s worked with soldiers
to help them cope with the rigors of
war. And she’s instituted a program
that trains dogs to be companions
for soldiers who might feel more
comfortable opening up to a Labrador
retriever than another human being.
“Dogs can take in that emotion,”
Caswell said. “They’re not going to
judge … they’re just going to keep
licking that soldier in the face.”
Caswell joined the Army fresh out
of high school, looking for a way to
pay for college. After Fort Jackson, she
studied Czech for a year at the Defense
Language Institute in Monterey, Calif.
She then trained as an interrogator
because she wanted a challenge.
Some people, Caswell admitted, have
difficulty picturing her as a hard-nosed
inquisitor. But information can be
obtained in many ways, Caswell said,
and she used her easygoing manner to
work in her favor.
“You don’t have to be mean to get
somebody to talk,” she said.
Today, that training comes in handy
in what might, at initial glance, be the
unlikeliest of places: the assisted living
center where she recently worked with
senior citizens and, now, at Mission
Hospital. The goals may be different,
but the drive for results is similar.
“In interrogation school, they taught
that everybody’s different and how
to use a different approach with your
source,” Caswell said. “You have to
figure out what approach will work.”
In 1993, Caswell enrolled in
ECU’s occupational therapy program.
Her professionalism stood out, said
Dr. Anne Dickerson, professor of
occupational therapy.
Dickerson remembers that Caswell
did a research project and presented a
poster at an American Occupational
Therapy Association conference – a
rarity then for an undergraduate student.
“When she graduated, to have the
determination to do a research project
and follow through on it was very
unusual,” Dickerson recalled.
Caswell continued to serve as
an Army Reservist, and soon after
graduation rejoined active duty when
she was commissioned as a second
lieutenant in the Army Medical
Specialist Corps.
“I figured if I could help soldiers,
then that’s what I needed to be doing,”
Caswell said.
Her ability to draw people out helped
after Sept. 11, when terrorists crashed
American Airlines Flight 77 into the
Pentagon. Then assigned to Walter Reed
Medical Center, Caswell was asked to
debrief survivors. These debriefings, in
which people are brought together for
an opportunity to talk about a traumatic
event, helped survivors identify ways to
cope. She and her team worked with
men and women who were among those
closest to where the attack occurred.
“They barely walked away,” she said.
“They talked about how they crawled
through the smoke. And how they got
home having lost their wallet, didn’t
have any money …How their spouses
thought they might have died.”
Today, the memory gives her pause.
“Those were some of the most
difficult debriefings I’ve ever done,”
Caswell said. “You never expect to
witness or have to debrief a traumatic
event of that magnitude on American
land. Emotion was very high, and their
detail of the event was so acute that it
really stayed with us.”
Then came two tours in Iraq, where
she led a combat-stress detachment that
helped soldiers deal with their problems,
both combat- and home-related.
As she visited patrol bases during
her first deployment, she noticed many
soldiers had dogs or cats. Owning pets
violated policy, but it gave soldiers,
particularly those in caretaker roles,
a release.
“They want to be a pillar of strength,”
Caswell said, but with a dog or cat,
they could cry. Upon her return to the
states, she related this to a colleague
who suggested Caswell start a program
to use therapy dogs in a combat zone.
It was another way to support soldiers,
who often miss their pets dearly while
deployed, Caswell believed.
Her superiors agreed, and the
therapy-dog program has now become
standard practice. The program was one
of several reasons Caswell was awarded
a Meritorious Service Medal – one
of several commendations, including
two Bronze Stars, that Caswell received
before retiring in 2010.
At her retirement celebration, Caswell
honored Dickerson for mentoring her
at ECU and after graduation. She also
honored a couple that had sent gift
packages to her in Iraq, Dickerson said.
“She’s just somebody that really
appreciates where she’s come from,”
Dickerson said. “… This is a story of
somebody working her way up to be the
best that she can be.”
28 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 29
Clinical Laboratory
Science
Joshua Pruiett, a senior from Hixson,
Tenn., received the W. James and Susan
T. Smith Scholarship for 2010. The
$1,000 scholarship is based on financial
need, academic performance and the
potential to contribute to the profession
of clinical laboratory science.
The scholarship recognizes more than
30 years of academic contribution to
ECU by Dr. Susan T. Smith, professor
emeritus and former chair of the clinical
laboratory science department, and her
late husband, Dr. W. James Smith, who
taught cell biology and biochemistry
in the Department of Biology at ECU
from 1966 until 1999.
Susan Smith is a clinical laboratory
scientist and biochemist who taught
clinical chemistry, immunology and
serology and professional issues from
1972 until 2001.
Seniors Jeanette McDaniel of King
George, Va., and Yolanda Wooten
of Bailey received the first Whitfield
Memorial Scholarship.
Each scholarship, valued at $1,075,
was awarded in recognition of acade-mic
performance, financial need,
community service and an interest
in clinical chemistry.
The scholarship is in memory of Mary
Beth Whitfield, who received a bachelor’s
degree in clinical laboratory science from
ECU in 1988. She worked at Pitt County
Memorial Hospital for 23 years, first in
the clinical chemistry department and
then in laboratory information systems.
After her sudden death in December
2009, PCMH colleagues donated funds
to establish the scholarship.
Communication Sciences
and Disorders
Doctoral student Kensi Cobb received
a Student Summer Research Fellowship
from the American Academy of
Audiology. The purpose of the
fellowship is to expose the student to a
stimulating research environment under
the guidance of a mentor. The title
of the project Cobb will be involved
in is “Effect of Altered Auditory
Feedback on Stuttering Duration and
Type in Adults Who Stutter During
Conversation.” Her mentor is Dr.
Andrew Stuart.
Meta M. Downes Scholarship –
Kristen Markel
Tanya Johnson McDowell & Riley
Floyd Scholarship – Courtney Durham
Robert A. Muzzarelli Service
Scholarship – Courtney Jackson
National Student Speech-Language
& Hearing Association Scholarships –
Ashley Whittenauer and Jessica Boykin
Denise Tetterton, a speech-language
pathology graduate student, received
the Barbara Bremer Award. The Bremer
Award is given annually to graduate
students in recognition of clinical work
that has made a recognizable difference
in the life of a client.
Barbara Bremer is an alumna
with a history of supporting ECU
students. She has a bachelor’s degree in
nursing and a master’s degree in speech-language
pathology from ECU. She
works in private practice.
Doctoral student Chris Gaines
received the American Academy
of Audiology Student Investigator
Vestibular Research Grant for 2011.
The grant was reviewed and
sponsored by the boards of the
American Academy of Audiology and
the American Academy of Audiology
Foundation and the Research Grant
Review Committee. The title of
the proposal, “Neural generators
of mammalian vestibular responses
to linear head motion,” is the topic
of his dissertation research. The
grant is funded in partnership with
the American Institute of Balance
Education Foundation.
Gaines also received a Student
Research Forum award from the AAA.
The award will provide travel support
to the annual convention in Chicago to
present his research project at a special
session. His research is under the
direction of Dr. Timothy Jones.
Doctoral student Teresa Lever won
the 2010 Helms Student Award from
the ECU Chapter of Sigma Xi.
The Helms Research Awards were
established by Dr. R. Marshall Helms
in 1987 with a donation to the ECU
Foundation. The award honors three
members of the Helms family who
were involved in research and teaching
at ECU. Marshall was a native North
Carolinian and member of the physics
department at ECU from 1948 until
his retirement as professor emeritus in
1972. He remained active in retirement,
Bate Foundation
Scholarship
Photo at left – students awarded The Bate
Foundation Scholarship are from left to
right: James C. Spicka, health services
and information management, Kathleen
Casto, clinical laboratory science, Melissa
Williamson, rehabilitation studies, Melissa
DeCarlo, physical therapy and Jamie
Camp, physician assistant studies. The
$4,000 scholarship is based on financial
need, academic performance and the potential
to contribute to the health care profession.
Scholarships
Nathan William Black, a 2003
graduate of the occupational therapy
program, died Jan. 21. He was 32.
Nathan lived in Long Beach,
Miss., until 1993 when he moved
to Statesville. He graduated from
Statesville High School in 1998.
While attending ECU, Black
worked as a part-time painter
and nude model. After receiving
his degree, he moved to Surfside
Beach, S.C., and earned his license
to practice occupational therapy.
He also earned a doctorate in
occupational therapy from the
University of Augustine. He worked
in home health specializing in
geriatric rehabilitation. He was an
avid runner, having completed two
marathons. He loved to read, the
ocean, and was a passionate ECU
and New Orleans Saints fan.
He was always happy and full of
life, ready to make anyone laugh
with a joke or comment. He was a
kind-hearted person who would do
anything for his friends and family
without hesitation.
Black is survived by his parents,
Murrey and Robin Black of
Louisville, Miss., and Dr. James
A. and Diane Smith of Statesville;
two brothers, Patrick and his wife,
Jennifer, of Shalimar, Fla., and
Murrey Lee and his wife, Julie, of
Myrtle Beach, S.C.; a sister, Lesley
Colvert and husband, Robert, of
Statesville; grandparents, W.L. and
Norma Black of Louisville, Miss.,
and Posey Freeman of Madison,
Miss.; step-brothers, Eddie Shenk
and John Young; step-sisters,
Annie Langston and April Turner
of Mobile, Ala.; and numerous
aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and
nephews, and special family friends
Patrick Jay and Loriann Witzigman
and their three sons of Myrtle
Beach, S.C.
The Freedom Scholarship
in occupational therapy is
being created in his memory.
Tax-deductible contributions can
be made to the ECU Medical
& Health Sciences Foundation,
525 Moye Blvd., Greenville, N.C.,
27834, or fill out and mail the
enclosed envelope in this issue, or
contact Pat Frede, 252-744-3523
or fredep@ecu.edu.
At left, Nathan Black holds the youngest
son of longtime friend, Patrick Witzigman,
on his graduation day from ECU.
In Memorial
Bate Foundation WINERS
30 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 31
Scholarships
presenting his last seminar to the physics
department in 2001 at the age of 93.
He died in 2002.
The Helms Student Research
Award focuses largely on the clarity
and significance of a single research
publication of which the student is an
author. The manuscript may be either
published, in press or in preparation and
may be submitted in any area of science
or engineering.
Jessica Pierce, a doctoral student,
received a travel award from
the Association for Research in
Otolaryngology to present her research
at the mid-winter meeting in Baltimore.
Her research mentor is Dr. Sherri Jones.
Health Services and
Information Management/
Community Health
Peter Chukwurah received the
Healthport Scholarship. The scholarship
assists deserving students majoring in
health information management.
Occupational therapy
Carolyn Fountain was awarded the
Jessica King Memorial Scholarship, which
provides support for students enrolled in
occupational therapy at ECU and who
are pursuing careers in gerontology.
Jessica King was a second year
graduate student in the occupational
therapy program with a keen interest
in older adults. A friend to all her
classmates and faculty members, it was
a loss to everyone when Jessica died
suddenly on Aug. 29, 2005. She was 26.
Physical Therapy
Jennifer Brewer, Jill Davis, Nancy Jo
Hodges and Christina Pate received
the George Hamilton Physical Therapy
Scholarship.
The ECU Physical Therapy Alumni
Society established the scholarship in
1995. The award is in honor of George
F. Hamilton, former chairman of the
department. The purpose of the schol-arship
is to assist deserving third-year
doctoral of physical therapy students.
The North Carolina Physical Therapy
Association awarded scholarships to
Nancy Jo Hodges and Molly Pleasants.
Hilary Bauer, a third-year doctoral
of physical therapy student from
Winston-Salem, was awarded the Blaise
M. Youngs Scholarship. This scholarship
recognizes academic merit and financial
need for physical therapy students.
Physician Assistant Studies
First year physician assistant student
Jamie Camp received the Bunting
Scholarship. The scholarship is funded
by Michael L. Bunting and is a one-time
award of $1,000 based on financial need
and scholarship.
Rehabilitation Studies
Phyllis St. John, a second year graduate
student, received the College of Allied
Health Sciences Patriot Scholarship.
The Patriot Scholarship is based on
academic strength, leadership capability
and the potential to contribute to a
profession in the field of allied health
sciences. Awardees must be a military
member of veteran, or the spouse or
child of a military member or veteran.
Jamie Pedro, an undergraduate
student, received the T.L. McClellan
Memorial Scholarship. The $1,000
scholarship recognizes and provides
financial assistance to full-time students
pursuing a degree in rehabilitation. The
purpose of the award is to promote
professional excellence in the practice
and advancement of rehabilitation in
North Carolina. T.L. McClellan was an
active member of the NCRA and this is
the 41st anniversary of the awarding of
the scholarship.
Development
By Pat Frede It is so good to be home! I sure took
a lot of things for granted before my
14-month deployment. I thought
I understood the importance of
education, but having spent 10 months
in a country where only 15 percent of
the population can both read and write,
there is no doubt that education can
change a person’s world.
As many of you know, I am the
director of development and alumni
affairs for the College of Allied Health
Sciences, but some of you also know
that I am a senior chief petty officer
in the United States Navy Reserve. I
was called to active duty in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom in 2009
and have recently returned from a tour
in Afghanistan.
Getting back to work at the university
has reminded me of how much there is
to do here at home. For our alumni, I
am so looking forward to homecoming
to reconnect with old friends and meet
new ones. Our theme is “It’s So Good
To Be Home!” so mark your calendars
for the weekend of Oct. 29 and come
home to ECU.
Your generosity has helped our college
in so many ways, but in this economic
environment, there is much more to do.
For our students, scholarship dollars
remain a significant factor in being able
to get a degree. However, now there
is additional important work to do.
The current state budget will not fund
student participation in professional
conferences. We all know that often
times the education we get outside
the classroom is equally important,
especially when it is the first time on
an aircraft or beyond the borders of
our great state of North Carolina. We
need to prepare our students to be more
than employees. They have to be leaders
in a global workforce. Participation in
professional development activities and
learning leadership competencies will
At top, Pat Frede greets a young boy while
serving in Afghanistan. At right, Frede
is pictured with James Spicka, a Bate
Foundation Scholarship winner and health
services and information management
student who will graduate in 2012.
place our students above the competition
in any profession.
I invite you to join the college’s giving
society, the “Alliance for Excellence.” You
can designate your gift to scholarship,
leadership and service, research, or the
priority fund of the area closest to your
heart. Please see the envelope in this
issue and tell us where you would like to
help bridge the gap between adequacy
and excellence.
Also visit our website, www.ecu.
edu/ah, to tell us what is new with
you and to keep up with what’s going
on with the college. You can check out
the photos of your “sandbox sailor’s”
adventures in foreign security force
training and in Afghanistan. Information
on homecoming will be posted on the
website as it becomes available.
In Afghanistan, the children were so
happy just to get notebooks and pencils
that came from the kindness of our
friends back home. Here in the United
States, we have so much to be thankful
for, the greatest of which is the choice to
pursue a better life. Please give today and
make a difference for every tomorrow!
Back in the USA
In the photo, Mallory Herbold of Jacksonville,
left, and Brittany Whitehurst of Windsor
received scholarships for 2011 in the
Department of Clinical Laboratory Science.
Herbold received the W. James and Susan
T. Smith Student Scholarship valued at
$1,000. It is named for former department
chair Susan Smith and her late husband.
Whitehurst received the Stas and Brenda
Humienny Scholarship valued at $1,000.
The Humiennys live in New Bern and are
1979 graduates of the department.
32 Alliance 2011 2011 Alliance 33
1973
George Williams (BS medical
technology), administrator of clinical
lab/pathology at Pitt County Memorial
Hospital, celebrates 38 years with
the hospital in June. In February, the
PCMH lab set a new record for total
lab test activity. University Health
Systems of Eastern Carolina, the parent
company for PCMH, now has eight
hospitals. PCMH has grown to one of
the largest hospitals in the state with
861 beds, with plans for a pediatric
emergency department and a new
Children’s Hospital.
1974
Kay Gooding (BS health information
management, ’80 MAEd) received the
2010 Triumph Pioneer Award from
the American Health Information
Management Association. She directs
the health information technology
program at Pitt Community College,
overseeing a 13-state health information
management training consortium. It
was one of the first online programs in
North Carolina. Last year, she helped
PCC secure a $10.9 million grant from
the U.S Department of Health and
Human Services to prepare thousands
of new health information technology
professionals needed to create electronic
health records. She earned a master’s of
public health from the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
1977
Johnnie Sexton (BS speech language
pathology, MS audiology ’79) has
launched The CARE Project, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to
bringing hope to families who have
children and/or adults with hearing
challenges through counseling experi-ences
aimed at the processing of the
emotional stages of grief. CARE is also
a tool for teaching professionals and
pre-professionals about the importance
of active listening with their clients and
patients. For more information, go to
www.thecareproject.me
1981
Eileen Rodri Carter (BS physical
therapy, MBA ’91) of Wilson was
elected chief delegate for the North
Carolina Physical Therapy Association.
She will serve the chapter in the House
of Delegates for two years. Carter is
owner and president of Comprehensive
Rehab of Wilson.
1987
Tanya McDowell (MS speech language
and auditory pathology) received the
Clinical Achievement Award for 2010
from the North Carolina Speech
Language and Hearing Association.
She has presented several workshops on
apraxia, and is a child advocate serving
children with speech language needs in
her private practice, Let’s Talk Speech
and Language Services in Raleigh.
James Parietti (MS physical therapy)
has joined Eagle Center Physical
Therapy in Anchorage, Alaska, as a
physical therapist.
2006
Michele Glincosky Garcia (MS
speech language pathology) works for
the Fort Worth, Texas, Independent
School District.
Cynthia Taylor (MS occupational
therapist) is director and owner
of Carolina Therapy Connection
in Greenville.
Timothy J. Wood (MS rehabilitation
studies) of Charlotte is executive
director of FamiliFirst, a company that
developed a model of family therapy
called family centered treatment. It is
a nationally-recognized evidence-based
practice and model of treatment in four
states including North Carolina. Visit
www.familycenteredtreatment.com.
2007
Stephanie Price (BS occupational
therapy) works in the outpatient
rehabilitation clinic at Tampa General
Hospital in Tampa, Fla. Price and a
patient were featured in “Molly’s Story”
on the hospital’s website, www.tgh.org.
2009
Casi Mooring (MS physician assistant
studies) has joined Eastern Psychiatric
& Behavioral Specialists in Greenville
where she provides medical management
to patients with behavioral and/or
emotional issues.
Class Notes
2011 Alliance 35
Occupational Therapy
Leonard G. Trujillo, PhD, OTR/L,
FAOTA
Associate Professor and Chair
Anne E. Dickerson, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Professor
Denise Donica, DHS, OTR/L, BCP
Assistant Professor
Annette Jones, MBA, OTR/L
Clinical Instructor and Admissions Coordinator
Carol Lust, EdD, OTR/L
Assistant Professor
Jane Painter, EdD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Professor
Academic Fieldwork Coordinator
Beth Velde, PhD, OTR/L
Professor
Kathy Benitez
Administrative Support Associate
Margaret Moody
Administrative Support Associate
Physical Therapy
Walter L. Jenkins, PT, DHS, LATC, ATC
Associate Professor and Chair
Bruce C. Albright, PhD, PT
Professor
Leslie Allison, PhD, PT
Assistant Professor
Sonja Bareiss, PhD, PT
Assistant Professor
Amy Gross McMillan, PhD, PT
Assistant Professor
Patricia S. Hodson, PT, DPT, PCS
Clinical Associate Professor and
Director of Clinical Education
Sarah Johnson, DPT
Clinical Instructor
Terry Jones, PhD
Associate Professor
Dean’s Office
Stephen W. Thomas, EdD
Professor and Dean
Kevin O’Brien, PhD
Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
David Cistola, MD, PhD
Professor and Associate Dean for Research
Beth Velde, PhD
Professor and Assistant Dean for Special Projects
Vicki Johnson
Dean’s Administrative Assistant
Kit Roberson
Director of Marketing
Pattie Wilson
Budget/Accounting
Jeanne Horton
Personnel/Facilities
Frankie Lynn McClure
Contracts Clerk
Wendy B. Smith
Grants and Contracts Administrator
Robert Fainter, PhD, Director
Office of Educational Technology
Jean Merenda, MS
Electronic Learning Coordinator
Patrice M. Frede
Director of Development & Alumni Affairs
Jan Aycock
Academic Advisor
Stephanie Bailey
Academic Advisor
Biostatistics
Paul Vos, PhD
Professor and Chair
Andrada Ivanescu, PhD
Assistant Professor
Jason Brinkley, PhD
Assistant Professor
Xiangming Fang, PhD
Assistant Professor
Suzanne Hudson, PhD
Associate Professor
Kevin O'Brien, PhD
Professor
Qiang Wu, PhD
Assistant Professor
Rhonda Bode
Administrative Support Associate
Clinical Laboratory Science
Kathleen Schulman, MS, MT(ASCP)
Clinical Assistant Professor and Acting Chair
David Cistola, MD, PhD
Professor
P. Karen Sullivan, PhD, SM(ASCP),
MT(ASCP)
Associate Professor
Ann C. McConnell, MAEd, MLS
(ASCP)CM
Laboratory Manager/Adjunct Faculty
Doris Johnson
Administrative Support Assoc.
Communication Sciences
and Disorders
Gregg Givens, PhD
Professor and Chair
Mark Allen
Technologist for Distance Learning
Rose Allen, PhD
Associate Professor
Director, Distance Education
Laura J. Ball, PhD, CCC-SLP
Associate Professor
Deborah Bengala, MA, CCC-SLP
Clinical Associate Professor
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Kathleen T. Cox, PhD, CCC-SLP
Associate Professor
Deborah S. Culbertson, PhD
Clinical Associate Professor
Director of Clinical Operations
Director, Audiology Clinic
Monica Hough, PhD, CCC-SLP
Professor
Director of Graduate Studies
Kelly P. James, MA, CCC-SLP
Clinical Supervisor
Sherri M. Jones, PhD
Associate Professor
Timothy A. Jones, PhD
Professor
Joseph Kalinowski, PhD
Professor
Lori Kincannon, MS, CCC-SLP
Clinical Supervisor
Julia T. Morrow, MA, CCC-SLP
Clinical Instructor
Coordinator of External Clinical Education
Heather Ramsdell, PhD
Assistant Professor
Michael Rastatter, PhD
Professor
Sharon Rutledge, AuD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Martha (Betty) Smith, PhD, CCC-SLP
Clinical Professor
Andrew Stuart, PhD, CCC-A, Aud(C)
Professor
Marianna Walker, PhD, CCC-SLP
Associate Professor
Sherri Winslow, MS, CCC-SLP
Clinical Supervisor
Dena Harrell
Administrative Support Associate
Cynthia Cox
Administrative Support Associate
Emerette Dominy
Administrative Support Associate
Wendy Harding
Administrative Support Associate
Health Services and Information
Management/Community Health
Xiaoming Zeng, MD, PhD
Associate Professor and Chair
Paul Bell, PhD, RHIA, CTR
Professor
Myra M. Brown, MBA, RHIA
Associate Professor
Robert Campbell, EdD, CPEHR
Assistant Professor
Leigh Cellucci, PhD, MBA
Associate Professor
Susie T. Harris, PhD, RHIA, CCS
Assistant Professor
Michael H. Kennedy, PhD, MHA, FACHE
Associate Professor
Acting Program Director, Health Services Management
Robert Kulesher, PhD
Associate Professor
Elizabeth Layman, PhD, RHIA, CCS,
FAHIMA
Professor
Thomas Ross, PhD
Assistant Professor
Pat Royal, EdD
Assistant Professor
Bonita Sasnett, EdD
Assistant Professor
Jennifer Pitt
Administrative Support Associate
Rosa Harris
Administrative Support Associate
Faculty and Staff
Sue Leach, PT, PhD, NCS
Assistant Professor
Jacob Thorp, DHS, PT
Clinical Assistant Professor
D.S. Williams, PhD, PT
Associate Professor
Kevin Youngs, MPT
Clinical Assistant Professor
Karen Eastwood
Administrative Support Associate
Leslie Hargrave
Administrative Support Associate
Melanie Wingler
Clinic Administrative Staff
Physician Assistant Studies
Carolyn Pugh, MHS, PA-C
Clinical Assistant Professor and Interim Chair
Kelly Brillant, MPH, PA-C
Clinical Assistant Professor
Elizabeth Bunting, PA-C
Clinical Coordinator
Clinical Assistant Professor
J. Patrick Carter, MPAS, PA-C
Clinical Assistant Professor
Julie Daniel-Yount, MHS, PA-C
Clinical Assistant Professor
Clinical Education Coordinator
Larry P. Dennis, MPAS, PA-C
Associate Professor
Jane Trapp, MSEd, PA-C
Clinical Associate Professor
Tonya Jefferson
Administrative Support Associate
Faye Hodges
Administrative Support Associate
Rehabilitation Studies
Lloyd Goodwin, PhD, LPC, CRC-MAC,
LCAS, CCS, ACS
Professor and Interim Chair
Paul P. Alston, PhD, CRC
Professor
Martha H. Chapin, PhD, LPC, CRC,
CDMS, NCC
Associate Professor
Director of Undergraduate Rehabilitation
Services; Coordinator of the Alcohol
and Drug Studies Minor
Mary Crozier, EdD, CSAC, CPP
Assistant Professor
Coordinator of the Substance Abuse Counseling
Certificate Program
Michael T. Hartley, PhD, CRC
Assistant Professor
Stephen Leierer, PhD
Associate Professor
Nathalie Mizelle, PhD, CRC, LPC
Assistant Professor
Shari Sias, PhD, LPC
Associate Professor
Director of the Substance Abuse & Clinical
Counseling Program
Steven R. Sligar, EdD, CVE
Assistant Professor
Director of Vocational Evaluation
Mark A. Stebnicki, PhD, LPC,
CRC, CCM
Professor
Director of Rehabilitation Counseling
Sharon Shallow, MAEd
Clinical Instructor
Stephen W. Thomas, EdD, CRC, CVE
Professor
Paul Toriello, RhD
Associate Professor
Director of Doctoral Studies
Cathy Moore
Administrative Support Associate
Judy Harrison
Administrative Support Associate
34 Alliance 2011
36 Alliance 2011
in Florida and in the Onslow, Craven
and Pitt county school systems in
North Carolina. Her interests are in the
areas of autism and augmentative and
alternative communication.
Stephen Leierer, associate professor in
the Department of Rehabilitation Studies,
received his doctorate
from Florida State
University, and
worked at LSU and
the University of
Memphis before
joining ECU’s
faculty. Leierer will
work primarily in
the doctoral program in rehabilitation
counseling and administration.
Heather L. Ramsdell, assistant
professor in the Department of
Communication Sciences and Disorders,
received a bachelor’s degree in speech-language
pathology
and audiology from
Iona College, a
master’s degree in
communication
disorders from
Boston University,
and a doctorate from
The University of
Memphis. She previously worked as a
coordinator of the vocal and speech
development project at the University
of Memphis and as a speech-language
pathologist in the Memphis City
School District. Her research and
teaching interests span phonetics,
phonology and psycholinguistics. She
is developing a research laboratory to
study infant vocal development with
future hopes to better predict later
language outcomes and to identify early
anomalies in development.
Elizabeth Bunting, clinical assistant
professor in the Department of
Physician Assistant Studies, received
a bachelor’s degree in zoology from
North Carolina
State University
and a master’s
degree in physician
assistant studies
from East Carolina
University. She will
be concentrating on
clinical rotations
during the second year of the physician
assistant studies curriculum and guest
lecturing for other courses.
J. Patrick Carter, clinical assistant
professor in the Department of
Physician Assistant Studies, received a
bachelor’s degree
in biology from
the University of
Kansas, a bachelor’s
degree in physician
assistant studies
from Wichita State
University, and
a master’s degree
in physician assistant studies with a
concentration in emergency medicine
from the University of Nebraska.
Carter has been a preceptor for ECU
for more than nine
years and has more
than 13 years of
clinical practice in
emergency medicine.
Emilie “Leigh”
W. Cellucci,
associate professor
in the Department
of Health Services and Information
Management, received a bachelor’s
degree in sociology from The College
of Charleston, a master’s
degree in sociology from
the College of William and
Mary, a doctorate in sociology from the
University of Virginia, and a master’s
of business administration from
Idaho State University. Her research
interests focus on the management of
health care organizations, including
the introduction and use of electronic
health records in health care settings.
Sarah E. Johnson has joined the
faculty in the Department of Physical
Therapy. Johnson received a bachelor’s
degree in exercise
physiology, a
master’s degree in
physical therapy,
and a transitional
doctorate in
physical therapy,
all from ECU. She
previously worked as
a physical therapist at Heritage Hospital
in Tarboro, where she was assistant
manager of the rehabilitation therapy
department and treated patients of all
ages in the acute, inpatient rehabilitation
and outpatient settings.
Lori J. Kincannon, clinical supervisor
in the Department of Communication
Sciences and Disorders, received a
bachelor’s degree
and a master’s
degree in speech-language
pathology
and audiology
from Florida State
University. She
also received a
graduate certificate
in assistive technology at ECU. She
has worked as a speech-language
pathologist in various clinical settings
Three faculty members in the College
of Allied Health Sciences, from left to
right, Dr. Elizabeth Layman, professor
of health services and information
management, Dr. Marianna Walker,
associate professor of communication
sciences and disorders, and Dr. Beth
Velde, professor of occupational therapy
Allied Health Sciences
welcomes new faculty
Alliance is published annually by the
East Carolina University College of
Allied Health Sciences for alumni,
faculty, staff and friends of the school.
Send your story ideas or comments
to the Editor, ECU News Services,
Division of Health Sciences, Lakeside
Annex #3, 600 Moye Boulevard,
Greenville, NC 27834, 252-744-3764,
or e-mail baityc@ecu.edu.
Dean: Stephen Thomas, EdD
Editor: Crystal Baity
Graphic Designer:
Laura Davenport
Photographer: Cliff Hollis
Writers:
Crystal Baity
Pat Frede
Karen Shugart
Contributing Photographers:
Forrest Croce
Michelle Rabell
Editorial Assistant:
Kit Roberson
Editorial Committee:
Pat Frede
Gregg Givens
Lloyd Goodwin
Walter Jenkins
Carolyn Pugh
Kathleen Schulman
Stephen Thomas
Leonard Trujillo
Beth Velde
Paul Vos
Xiaoming Zeng
East Carolina University is committed
to equality of educational opportunity
and does not discriminate against
applicants, students or employees based
on race, color, national origin, religion,
sex, sexual orientation or disability.
ECU is an equal opportunity/
a ffirmative action employer, which
accommodates the needs of individuals
with disabilities.
www.ecu.edu/ah
U.P. 11-185 Printed on recycled paper.
6,450 copies of this public document
were printed at a cost of $6,512.47, or
$1.01 per copy.
New Faculty
7
Elizabeth Bunting
J. Patrick Carter
Emilie Cellucci
Sarah Johnson
Lori Kincannon
Stephen Leierer
Heather Ramsdell
and assistant dean for special projects,
received ECU Women of Distinction
awards for 2011. Awards are based
on demonstrated contributions in
areas such as academics/education,
outreach, research, politics, athletics and
volunteering. They were among nine
receiving awards on April 13.
Founders Day winners
Six allied health sciences faculty
members were recognized April 26
in Hendrix Theater during East
Carolina University’s Founders Day
celebration, marking 104 years of
teaching, research and service.
Dr. David Cistola, professor
and associate dean for research, was
among 67 faculty and staff and 24
students inducted into the Servire
Society, which began in 2008.
Members must perform a minimum
of 100 hours public service during
a year.
The UNC Board of Governors
Distinguished Professor for Teaching
Awards recognizes and supports
excellent teaching at each of the 16
constituent universities in the UNC
system. Dr. Robert J. Campbell,
professor of health services and
information management, was one
of six selected at ECU for the award.
Five faculty members who
received U.S. patents in the last year
were recognized, including four
professors from the Department
of Communication Sciences and
Disorders: Dr. Michael Rastatter,
Dr. Joseph Kalinowski, Dr. Andrew
Stuart, and department chairman
Dr. Gregg Givens.
Come home to ECU.
We look forward to
hearing your news!
The College of Allied Health Sciences and ECU will celebrate home-coming
Oct. 29. Make plans to join your classmates and look for updates
on activities in the college at www.ecu.edu/ah. Remember to send us your
news throughout the year at www.ecu.edu/cs-dhs/ah/alumni.cfm.
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Mail Stop 668
Greenville NC 27858
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